Green violation at Mumbai project lands DB Realty in trouble

The Maharashtra government has sought an explanation from real estate major DB Realty as to why action should not be taken against it for violation of environmental norms at a residential project in Mumbai.

According to the environment department, DB Realty has started construction on its project - Orchid Crown - in the upscale Prabhadevi without taking environmental clearance. It has recommended that the company be asked to stop work.

The real estate developer is constructing three residential buildings (two 54-storeyed and one 56-storeyed) with 534 tenements at Prabhadevi.

The state-level expert appraisal committee (SEAC) had, last month, visited Orchid Crown and found that the proposal submitted by the company involved a total construction of over 15.8 times the plot area and that the non-FSI area came to 296% of the FSI area. (The FSI of a plot is the ratio of the built-up area to the plot size).

The committee subsequently asked the developer to reduce the total area of construction. However, the panel then decided to recommend rejection of the proposal for grant of prior environmental clearance in view of "objectionable attitude of the project proponent (DB Realty)".

The realty firm later informed the SEAC it had reduced the total construction area as well as the number of floors and tenements. However, when the committee made a site visit, it found the work had already been taken up in a "substantial manner" and the earlier existing structures were demolished.