Supreme Court lifts ban on new construction for six months

The Supreme Court has allowed construction activity in the city for six months, after the Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry (MCHI) asked the court to intervene.

Since there was no alternative to the dumping grounds in Deonar and Mulund, in 2016, Bombay High Court had asked BMC to not issue any new building construction. The order talks about sites where debris will now be disposed.

The order read, "We make it clear that this order is not intended to set aside or modify the aforesaid impugned judgment. We have considered the matter only in order to explore the possibility, or safe methods of permitting certain constructions, for a limited period to pave way for further orders that may be passed."

Further the court said, "It was argued before as this construction debris can be safely disposed of at designated sites. We direct that any construction that is permitted hereafter for the purpose of this order shall be only after adequate safeguards are employed by the builders for preventing dispersal of particles through the air. This shall be incorporated in the IOD, unless it is already so incorporated."