Environment panel rejects big housing project

An ambitious police housing project at Goregaon, which was to be developed by a leading developer, may be cancelled after the state environment panel rejected the proposals in its meeting last month.

An ambitious police housing project at Goregaon, which was to be developed by a leading developer, may be cancelled after the state environment panel rejected the proposals in its meeting last month.

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The first of its kind housing project of nine 25-storey buildings would have provided homes to 4,851 families of police personnel. In exchange, the developer, DB Realty, was given permission for five 26-storey buildings for commercial sale.

The State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC), an advisory body that scrutinises all construction and infrastructure projects in the state, rejected the project saying the developer failed to produce essential documents.

Not happy with the decision, DB Realty has now appealed against the panel’s orders to the higher authority, the State-level Environment Impact Assess-ment Authority (SEIAA), for a final decision.

“We have gone in appeal and are confident of getting the approval. The committee doesn’t have powers to scrutinise all approvals before giving environmental clearance,’’ said Vinod Goenka, chairman, DB Realty.

Another DB Realty project, Orchid Crown at Prabhadevi, was also rejected after the developer refused to revise the proposal according to the committee’s recommendation, which would have drastically reduced the total construction area.

The total construction on the plot was to be 15.8 times the plot area, which the SEAC termed “environmentally unsustainable’’.

“They had asked us to reduce the built-up area under the parking scheme, but we don’t think they have the mandate to impose such conditions. The proposal is as per the development control rules and has prior permission from the civic body and traffic police,’’ added Goenka.