Mumbai: Although the Supreme Court on Tuesday restored the power of the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) in all states to approve realty projects measuring over 20,000 square metres, providing much needed relief to developers, home buyers in Maharashtra are unlikely to benefit from the order, several developers told Hindustan Times.
In fact, prices of homes in 493 affected projects in the state, stalled due to the National Green Tribunal’s direction in 2024 for centralised appraisal of large-scale construction projects, may rise by 7-8%, the developers said.
“Developers who had mobilised capital for launching projects were severely inconvenienced by the restriction, and had to wait for nearly a year till the power was restored with the state-level authority,” said Keval Valambhia, chief operating officer, CREDAI-MCHI. “Most of the affected projects were for mass housing, and homes in these projects are likely to be dearer by 7-8% compared to earlier prices.”
As per rules, developers must secure environmental clearances before applying for commencement certificates for their projects and registering the same with the housing regulator. Homes can only be sold after this entire process is completed.
The NGT’s Bhopal bench had, in August 2024, barred SEIAAs from approving realty projects measuring over 20,000 square metres and located within 5 kilometres of ecologically sensitive areas. The NGT had directed developers to seek approval instead from the ministry of environment and forest, climate change (MoEFCC).
Most developers in Maharashtra adopted a wait and watch approach following the NGT order, instead of applying for necessary approvals with the central ministry. Consequently, numerous housing projects in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) – around Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Tungareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary, Karnala Bird Sanctuary, Thane Bird Sanctuary, Phansad Wildlife Sanctuary and Panvel creek – got stalled.
Valambhia from CREDAI-MCHI and several others said Tuesday’s apex court order restoring SEIAA’s powers would not benefit consumers as developers would be keen to recover losses incurred while waiting for approvals.
But others said affected developers were never told not to secure the necessary approvals from the central government.
“They could have moved an application with the expert appraisal committee (under the MoEFCC) in New Delhi, the way a handful of developers did, including a Gujarat-based developer with a mega project in Mumbai,” a developer who did not wish to be identified told HT.
Pankaj Kapoor, founder and managing director of Liases Foras, a non-broking real estate research company, concurred with the developer. Lack of environmental clearance was only one of several factors – such as subdued sales – due to which many housing projects got stalled, he said.
Home buyers may still have to pay more than earlier as such developments often lead to speculative pricing, he noted.