94 real estate projects stuck for want of Occupancy Certificates in Dronagiri

Ninety four real estate projects have been stuck for want of Occupancy Certificates in Dronagiri node of Navi Mumbai due to the Coastal Regulation Zone rules.CIDCO, which has given building permissions or commencement certificates to realty developers for these projects, is unable to give OCs as the environmental clearances have not come in, realtors said

Ninety four real estate projects have been stuck for want of occupancy certificates in Dronagiri node of Navi Mumbai due to the Coastal Regulation Zone rules.

Ninety four real estate projects stuck for want of Occupancy Certificates in Dronagiri. CIDCO, which has given building permissions or commencement certificates to realty developers for these projects, is unable to give OCs as the environmental clearances have not come in, realtors said. (HT FILE PHOTO)

CIDCO, which has given building permissions or commencement certificates to realty developers for these projects, is unable to give OCs as the environmental clearances have not come in, realtors said.

CIDCO might have thought that it could get post-facto environmental clearances as per the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Control (MOEFCC) policy, environmentalists said. But the post-facto clearance provision was stayed by Bombay High Court in May last year following a writ petition filed by NGO Vanashakti. The stay is in force till May 6 this year.

Realtors’ apex body CREDAI-MCHI has aggressively initiated efforts to get the CRZ hurdles cleared and, in fact, the organisation tasked developer Rajesh Prajapati to resolve the knotty issue. “We are hopeful that we will be able to solve the problem soon,” Prajapati, who is moving the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA), said. He added, “We have made a representation to the government and we are hopeful of a positive response.”

In fact, the entire Dronagiri Development Plan (DP) does not have CRZ clearance, NGO NatConnect Foundation said, quoting information obtained under the Right To Information (RTI) Act from MCZMA.

“We have been following up with the various authorities including the Environment Department on the destruction of mangroves and wetlands due to the widespread landfill in Dronagiri.” NatConnect Foundation director, BN Kumar, said.

Nandakumar Pawar, head of Shri Ekvira Aai Pratrishtan, pointed out, “CIDCO, which planned the development of Dronagiri node across 2,740 hectares, has itself said the area is three metres below the sea level and that a massive landfill is required.”

To give an example, one can see the landfill up to 10 feet, equivalent to a single floor, for the railway stations being built in Uran and Bokadvira, Kumar said.

The entire Uran area is CRZ-l category land with mangroves and intertidal waters, yet CIDCO has allotted these areas for infrastructure and housing projects without any environmental clearances, Pawar said.

“The fact that mangroves have started growing again in Dronagiri in the midst of the concrete structures clearly proves that nature strikes back,” Pawar said. These plots developed by CIDCO were once lush green mangrove zones, he said.

Kumar said this is reminiscent of holding up of OCs for scores of buildings along Palm Beach Road in Navi Mumbai as they, too, do not have CRZ Clearances.

CIDCO did not respond on the issue.