Eco-nod delay affects big real estate projects- Property in Mumbai

Eco-nod delay affects big real estate projects- Property in Mumbai

NASHIK: The delay in giving environment clearance to big real estate projects of more than two lakhsq ft has become a major deterrent for realtors, particularly those in smaller cities. Builders and realtors have recently put forth their grievances to chief ministerPrithvirajChavan, who, in turn, pledged to facilitate a meeting between them and the Prime Minister.

According to the industrial policy, projects of more than two lakh sq ft have to acquire environmental clearance. This generally takes over a year-and-half.

At present, the state-level expert appraisal committee examines the projects and their impact on the environment before being cleared or rejected by the central authority on the basis of the appraisal panels recommendations.

The President of Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Association of India (CREDAI), Nashik, Kiran Chavan, said "The delay is due to the fact that there are just two appraisal committees at the state level and one final authority at the national level to clear a large number of applications. The delay affects the real estate market and consequently the gross domestic product. Normally, it takes 15-20 months for us to get the permissions."

He added, "There are only two state-level committees in Maharashtra - one for the Mumbai metropolitan region and the other for rest of the state. When we met the chief minister recently, he assured us that he would arrange a meeting with the Prime Minister and the environment minister."

Chavan said the realtors and the builders had suggested formation of three committees in the state instead of two and conducting weekly meetings instead of monthly ones to fasten the clearance process. "Each district with a good growth potential should also have one committee," he added.

Director of Karda Constructions Naresh Karda, one of the many builders who has sought environmental clearance and awaits approval, said they have to first get their projects cleared from the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), which takes 2-3 months, after which they have to apply to the committee in Mumbai. "There are many realtors who have applied for clearances for their projects for a year now but still haven't got the necessary approvals. If a builder applies for the green building rating system certification (which includes rainwater harvesting, sewage treatment plant, etc), he can get the approval 2-3 months before normal time," he said.

Another realtor and builder, Gopal Atal, whose one project awaits approval for over a year and the other is under the process for application, said that over 500 files are pending with the state appraisal committee which approves three to four files every month. "Generally, there is a criterion that if a projects does not get a reply for 120 days, it is deemed approved and the builder can start the work. But such is not the case here. The process should be simplified with one committee for each region because bigger cities have bigger projects which get preference as compared to smaller cities," he added.