Mumbai: The Supreme Court’s clarification that its June 3 order mandated a buffer zone around protected forests will not apply to the Tungareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary (TWLS), located in the satellite town of Vasai-Virar, for affordable housing seekers. Has come as a great relief. to Mumbai.
Vasai-Virar is witnessing a boom in construction projects. In the last decade, significant development in infrastructure and reasonable price options as compared to other congested beaches in Mumbai have made Vasai a promising real estate destination.
June 3 order A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court (SC) had directed that every protected forest should have an Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) of 1 kilometer starting from its demarcated boundaries. ESZs are built around protected forests, wildlife sanctuaries and national parks to minimize any negative impact on their fragile ecosystems.
A bench of Justices BR Gavai and Vikram Nath on Wednesday, in keeping with its earlier order passed in September, exempted the Tungareshwar sanctuary from the ESZ rule, thus allowing construction activity to resume in the area.
This came after the SC on September 23, warning Regarding finalization of limit notification issued by Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Demarcation of the boundaries of Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) and Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary (TCFS). the court did clarified Wherever the notification was issued by the Ministry prior to the June 3 order, the same shall prevail.
ministry notification was issued in 2019 regarding creation of an ESZ around Tungareshwar Sanctuary.
Amid confusion regarding the Supreme Court’s order of June 3 and the Ministry’s notification, the apex body of real estate developers, the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India-Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry (CREDAI-MCHI), has filed an additional petition seeking clarification. Is. Sanctuary.
In a press statement, CREDAI-MCHI President Boman Irani Welcoming Wednesday’s SC order, it said, “On behalf of the real estate fraternity, I thank the apex court for the clarification…This clarification is a big relief not only to developers but also to home buyers.”
However, the exact impact of how the industry will benefit will be assessed only after going through the entire Supreme Court order, Irani told ThePrint.
Irani further said that while seeking exemption for TWLS, CREDAI-MCHI had pointed out the issue of ESZ notifications for SGNP and Thane TCFS.
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‘Construction activities had stopped’
Shailesh Puranik, Vice President, MCHI and Chairman, Puranik Builders Pvt Ltd said, “…[T]His (June 3) order was for the whole of India and as far as these three national parks are concerned, due process of law was followed and ESZ was published as per the needs of the city.
Samit Shukla, partner, Mumbai-based law firm DSK Legal, who fought the case in the SC on behalf of CREDAI-MCHI, said, “Tungareshwar falls under the Vasai-Virar municipal area, so several developments in the vicinity were affected. And many projects stuck due to 1 km order can now start again. This [order] Will provide huge relief to around 6-7 lakh completed units and many more under construction units in the area.
Based on the last notification by the Ministry, many projects were going on and people had bought flats but the construction activities were stopped. For completed flats, [Vasai-Virar municipal] “The corporation was not giving possession certificates, causing loss to home buyers,” Shukla said.
“In a dense city like Mumbai, many constructions happen around national parks and anyway nothing is allowed inside it and we are following the rules as well. So this blanket order was hurting real estate and other construction activities. But now it is good news. Puranic.
In cases where environmental activists and developers take extreme positions, homebuyers become victims, said Ashutosh Limaye, head-consulting, Anarock Property Consultants, a leading real estate services company. “So it is a big positive for homebuyers who invest in those areas… This order is a sigh of relief for them.”
A Thriving Real Estate Destination
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) comprises the city of Mumbai, the city of Thane, Navi Mumbai and the Vasai-Virar municipal areas. The Tungareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary, in the Vasai region of Palghar district, is an important habitat for many animals, including leopards.
In 2016, the Maharashtra government first proposed an ESZ around Tungareshwar and Tansa Wildlife Sanctuaries and prepared a draft notification for the same by August that year. In December 2018, the apex court issued a direction that the environment ministry should declare ESZs around 21 national parks and wildlife sanctuaries that do not have a buffer zone.
In 2019, MoEF&CC approved the final ESZ notification regarding TWLS.
The total protected area of TWLS is 85.70 sq km, and the notified ESZ was spread over 67.26 sq km with a radius of 100 m to 4 km around the boundary of the sanctuary.
As per latest quarterly report of MMR sector released by AnarockThe Virar-Vasai region, which falls under the peripheral western suburbs of the MMR, has witnessed the highest new supply, contributing 3,634 units and a 26 per cent share within the region.
Upcoming infrastructure projects like Metro, MMR Ring Road, Bullet Train and Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) are being looked at to enhance connectivity in the area. Major workplace locations in Mumbai – such as Borivali, Goregaon, Andheri and Bandra Kurla Complex – are accessible within 50 minutes, which is another plus for the satellite city.
(Editing by Anumeha Saxena)