Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has directed the Maharashtra government and all civic authorities across the state not to grant Occupancy Certificates (OCs) to any structure unless it strictly complies with
approved building plans and permissions, and has functional sewage treatment plants (STPs) in place for high-rise buildings.
A bench of Justices Ravindra Ghuge and Abhay Mantri expressed serious concern over the “enormous magnitude” of environmental damage caused by untreated sewage being discharged into the Ulhas river, particularly from constructions in the Thane district. The court noted that around 438 allegedly unauthorised structures had come up in the region without adequate sewage treatment facilities.
The directions were passed while hearing a petition filed by a Badlapur resident, who raised issues of illegal constructions by a developer and the consequent discharge of untreated sewage into the river.
Observation Made By The Bench
“Since the State is a party before us, having noticed the enormous magnitude of the human created problem of dumping sewage into the Ulhas river without having proper Sewage Treatment Plants being constructed by the builders, we find it appropriate to direct all the authorities in the State of Maharashtra… that no structure would be granted an Occupancy Certificate until the structure is in accordance with the approved plans, building permissions and most importantly, unless and until S.T.P. are constructed for high rise buildings,” the bench said.
The court directed all civic bodies, municipal councils, local authorities and gram panchayats to conduct a survey to identify buildings where STPs have not been provided, unless the sewage system is connected to an underground drainage network maintained by civic authorities. It ordered that a list of defaulting builders and construction companies be prepared and steps be taken towards blacklisting them.
The court appointed the Thane District Collector as chairperson of the High Court Constituted Committee (also known as the Improvements Committee) and directed it to meet at least once every fortnight. The committee’s minutes are to be placed before the court, with the next compliance hearing scheduled for January 28.
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