The Supreme Court (SC) on November 30 provided relief to real estate developers and home buyers of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) by giving a clarification that eco-sensitive-zone (ESZ) boundaries of Tungareshwar Sanctuary will be treated as per notifications issued by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MOEF).
Several local bodies were having confusion whether to follow the fresh direction or follow the existing restrictions on construction owing to which apex body of real estate developers Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry (MCHI) and Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI) had filed an interim application with the SC and sought clarification.
The SC order dated June 3, 2022, has embarked on a 1 km restriction on new development around ESZ of various sanctuaries of MMR. Taking cognisance of the issue, CREDAI-MCHI took initiative and filed an interim application seeking clarification and appraising SC with notifications finalising the boundaries of each ESZ.
On September 23, 2022, the SC bench headed by Justice Gavai was apprised of the boundary finalisation notification issued by MoEF. The SC clarified that ESZ boundaries for Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) and Flamingo Bird Sanctuary will be as per final notifications issued by the MoEF.
An additional interim application was filed by CREDAI MCHI, seeking clarification of the SC order dated June 3, 2022, to clarify that 1 km Eco Sensitive Zone boundaries were inapplicable to Tungareshwar Sanctuary, which was allowed on November 30, according to MCHI-CREDAI.
