Will NGT blow thousands of dreams

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) was set up on Oct 10, 2010 under the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 for effective preparation of environmental policies and for keeping a stern watch on commercial activities, in regard to preserving a sound environment and to retain greenery of nature. Thus, the tribunal has been empowered with necessary jurisdiction that would deal with matters pertaining to environment and in a way, will reduce the burden of work that usually rests with higher courts for that matter.

For the real estate related activities, NGT has been recently active in news for a significant reason that it did not provide the completion certificates to projects on the grounds that they were constructed within a radius of 10 kms of the Okhla bird sanctuary which has in turn affected one of the most prominent sectors of Noida market; such as 44, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 94, 119, 137, 142 and 143. As a result, the concerned developers had approached the Supreme Court for the purpose of seeking completion certificates, but the court declined to overcome on the issue and referred the case to Union Government for final verdict. It is to be noted here that the Union Government in New Delhi has been referred to, as the final decision about the official demarcation of boundaries as far as the eco-sensitive zone is concerned, around the bird sanctuary. However, it can be the case for protecting environment or for safeguarding bird species or of simply upholding the legal sanctity of the governmental body such as NGT, but the fact is that such a ruling has caused a great deal of agony and frustration among the developers and most of all, the customers who had invested in affected properties.
Mr. Sushant Muttreja, CMD, Cosmic Group says “Not only Noida, several adjoining areas of Delhi such as Jamia, Lajpat Nagar, Kalkaji, Nehru place, etc are also coming within the 10 kms radius of the sanctuary. Can the authorities declare the similar fates for these regions as they decide for Noida sectors? NGT and government will face a storming reaction from the public if homes in these Delhi and Noida regions are been put to ground. They should rather come out with a practical and feasible solution that does not negatively affect the sentiments of the people”.
Mr. Ashok Gupta, CMD, Ajnara India Ltd. says “It is a good that a governing body is there which is responsible for clearing environmental issues for construction. But there has to be certain parameters which need to be set up in order to not discard the already constructed structures. This will hamper the real sector of NCR badly and can even go on to negatively strike the market sentiments in the Indian real estate sector, in general. NGT and government must come down to a balanced conclusion, so that neither the environment nor the customers loose”.

Possession of as much as 20,000 units and has been kept on hold and projects of almost 40 developers has been affected due to the court’s decision. The two most crucial points to be noted are; that most of the construction had already begun when NGT was not even formed and the eco sensitive zone had been increased drastically from 100 mtrs in radius to 10 kms. Finally, almost all the developers had been provided with the concerned approvals, licenses and clearance then, but now all stands to nil after the court’s decision. It is the duty of the court to take decisions that are in interest of the general public. But in this case, thousands of dreams will be shattered. Who is to be blamed in this scenario apart from the concerned authorities? The developers went through all the necessary legal procedures to build the projects and customers put in their life’s hard earned money in to it.

But now with just one decision all might get down to dust. The court and the concerned authority must understand the effect that this will leave on the real estate sector and its current/future customers. They must strike a balance between nature and public sentiments and accordingly set up new parameters for future constructions.

Rupesh Gupta, Director, JM Housing says “It will be quite harsh a decision to simply order the cancelation of already constructed structures in Noida and other affected areas. It is to be noted that, most of the projects started with the construction even before NGT’s formation, and when NGT got formed, many projects were nearing completion or were under construction. The sensitive zone radius had been also increased. Thus, most decisions came very late and earlier all necessary approvals and sanctions were provided by the authorities. The court must look into this matter once again and should overlook the previous decision; as many units, money, time and effort of several investors, customers and developers will go in vain”.

Deepak Kapoor, Director, Gulshan Homz says “The authorities miss out one most crucial point that most of the buyers who are waiting for the possession are bearing two sword on their throats; one of EMI of the house and other one the rent at the current accommodation. These end users are the worst sufferers amongst all affected. Their plan to shift into their own homes has now been delayed which means additional burden of rent till the time new decisions do not come up”.

Customers and developers are pretty hopeful that the new decision will be taken in consideration to the future prospects of the sector, impact on the Indian economy and sentiments of the customers of this sector and general public as well. The decision must help in keeping the public interest alive and the environment protected.

Hrishi Kumar

Hrishi is a young management graduate with experience in the field of branding and marketing.Currently, he is the manager at Integrated Centre for Consultancy Pvt. Ltd (ICCPL)

The views expressed in this article are the author´s own.