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Indrani Dutta

Kolkata , Dec. 9

THE Union Environment and Forest Ministry's (MoEF) efforts to bring housing construction activity within its purview has hit a roadblock with the builders, the States and the Union Urban Development Ministry resisting the move.

The builders' lobby under the umbrella of their apex organisation, the Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Association (CEDAI), has begun seeking legal advice prior to sending their formal objections to the Ministry.

In the vanguard of the rising opposition are industry bigwigs like the Raheja group of Mumbai, whose representative is the CEDAI Chairman, the Kumar group of Pune and the Rungta group based here. The CEDAI has also had discussions with the Union Urban Development Minister in this regard who is slated to take up the issue with the Union Environment Minister.

The Bengal Environment Minister, Mr Manab Mukherjee, told Business Line that the West Bengal Government had already sent in its objections to the Centre saying that the State was competent enough to tackle environment pollution issues arising out of housing construction activities.

However, till a final picture emerges, builders fear that a lull in housing activity is inevitable.

Builders who have already launched their projects but have not reached the plinth level are now required to get an Environment Impact Assessment done.

New industrial estates where the expenditure has not exceeded 25 per cent of the project cost too would need the clearance.

For projects already under construction, documents would have to be submitted to the MoEF on sewage treatment facilities.

According to the gazette notification issued by the MoEF in October last, any construction activity including new townships, industrial townships, commercial complexes, hotels for 1,000 persons or below or discharging 50,000 litres or below of sewage daily and entailing an investment of Rs 50 crore or below will have to get an Environment Impact Assessment Study done and get a clearance from the Ministry.

The MoEF proposed to introduce these as amendments to its existing notification (of January 1994) whereas it imposed restrictions on expansion of any industrial activity without environmental clearance. The housing sector was proposed to be covered through an amendment.

The Environment Ministry argued that although the Centre has taken various measures to control pollution including those from industrial- domestic sources as also that of bio-medical wastes, continuing pollution of rivers and other water bodies was a serious area of concern.

In order to prevent further deterioration of water quality, it was felt necessary that new projects would have to be brought within the purview of Environment Impact Assessment Notification.

"All such projects have an adverse impact on environment including wetlands, lakes, rivers and coastal waters posing serious health hazards to the local population, including children," the notification observed, adding that authorities in towns have been approving new construction projects of various categories and sizes without any concern for environment.

Referring to the National River Conservation Plan(NRCP), the Ministry said that under this plan pollution abatement works in 157 towns along 31 rivers in 18 States had been undertaken in addition to the first phase of the Ganga Action Plan.

"Despite these efforts, the sewerage system and sewage treatment capacity already provided under NRCP was not being maintained by the local bodies resulting in partial achievements of the objectives of NRCP," according to the Ministry.

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