Submit Debris Dumping Plan Before Taking Construction Approval: BMC To Developers

Constant infrastructure development has led to the Illegal dumping of construction and demolition waste in Mumbai, just like in other metropolises. A few months ago, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) announced rewards for citizens who help in identifying cases of unauthorised dumping of debris in the city while the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) proposed a plan for recycling of construction waste.

This reckless waste disposal has severely damaged the wetlands and mangroves of the city as well as affected human health.

Asking the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to first come up with a debris management plan, the Bombay High Court had banned new construction in the city after a fire broke out in the Deonar dumping ground in 2016. In 2017, the court ordered the civic body to draft guidelines for disposal of construction waste before revoking the ban. Sustaining its efforts towards waste management, the BMC has now said that developers will not receive the No-Objection Certificate (NOC) for construction unless they provide their debris dumping plan before the authority.

So, are Mumbai developers ready?

BMC’s strict orders for developers

Complying with the recent Supreme Court order, the BMC will soon implement a new policy for disposal of construction debris in the city through the Intimation of Disapproval Certificate (IOD). It issued a circular on April 6 specifying about the guidelines containing the details on places where the waste can be disposed-off. The civic body will issue the IOD as the first document after it clears the civil plans before the construction work. The document will mention the site of the landfill to be used.

The dumping grounds of Deonar and Mulund have been excluded from the list of areas where the waste can be dumped. As per the new rule, the developers will be required to identify a dumping site before starting the construction which will be inspected by the BMC and mentioned in the IOD.

Some facts to know

*A BMC-team comprising of three civic officials was recently formed to prepare the guidelines as well as norms on bank guarantee procedures.

*As per the circular issued, the owner must submit a construction and debris plan to the authority at the time of applying for an IOD.

*The developer can initiate the construction activity only after receiving the NOC from the owner of the landfill to dump debris at the site. The solid waste management department of the corporation will first approve the construction permission.

*Applicants should submit bank guarantee between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 50 lakh, as per the latest Supreme Court’s order which lifted the ban.

*For stricter vigil on the activities, regular surprise checks will be conducted by the officials to ensure the rules are adhered to.

*The BMC can stop the construction if the landfill is not available during construction.

*Builders who generate small quantities of debris are exempted from this new rule. However, they will need to avail BMC’s ‘debis on call’ service. The civic body, after receiving an intimation, will then collect and disposes the debris.

*Around 700 projects were affected due to the court order to ban construction activities.

*The locality of Mulund has a debris recycling plant built on a 2.8-acre plot. Ironically, it is non-functional and of no use for managing the tonnes of waste dumped on the site.

*Each of the 24 wards of the city has two debris dumpers which can be booked to collected waste by payment of around Rs 350 per tonne.