SC rejects SLP on Essar bldg

JULY 13: The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday rejected a special leave petition (SLP) filed by two Essar group companies seeking continuation o...

JULY 13: The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday rejected a special leave petition (SLP) filed by two Essar group companies seeking continuation of the construction of a residential building at Walkeshwar in south Mumbai.

The SLP, filed by Rupa Investments and Chiloda Farms Limited, was dismissed by a division bench comprising Justice Mukherjee and Justice Saghir Ahmed, who maintained that the construction violated the the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) and Development Control (DC) regulations.

The Bombay Environment Action Group (BEAG) had filed a writ petition in the Bombay High Court (HC) against the construction of a five-storeyed building, alleging that it violated the CRZ as it was built within 500 metres of the high tide line. It said the construction, carried out by the companies after demolishing two old bungalows situated on a hill on the sea face, was illegal as the land was levelled at sea level and part of the sea had been reclaimed.

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The plans for the building were sanctioned by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in 1994, and a building commencement certificate was issued up to the plinth level. “However, the construction carried out by the companies upto two storeys was not according to the sanctioned plan. When the BMC found out, it issued `stop work’ notices to the companies,” said Debi Goenka of the BEAG.

On May 10, 1995, the BEAG had filed a writ petition in the SC, and Justice Kuldip Singh passed an ex parte stay order restraining the companies from carrying out further construction. The plea by the companies for vacation of the stay was also rejected.

Subsequently, the building proposals department of the BMC, then headed by chief engineer Pote, also ordered the demolition of the construction as it was not according to the sanctioned plan. “However, the then municipal commissioner J D Jadhav revoked Pote’s order and regularised the construction,” Goenka said.

The BEAG then filed another writ petition in theBombay HC challenging the regularisation of the buildings, and the order passed by J D Jadhav was set aside. Meanwhile, the companies appealed to the minister of state for urban development, Ravindra Mane, who subsequently confirmed the altered building plans after a hearing in Mantralaya.

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When the SC petition came up for a final hearing before Justice Kuldip Singh, it was dismissed by him, saying it was premature in view of the appeal pending before the minister. The stay order, however, was continued for ten days.

The BEAG again moved the HC against the minister’s order, which maintained that the companies should get a clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests as the cost of construction was more than Rs five crore.

“Although the companies had submitted in the SC that the construction costs were about Rs 120 crore, they told the HC that the cost was only Rs 3.96 crore,” Goenka said.