Central Circular Doesn’t Specify Action If Deadlines Aren’t Met

The Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) wants environmental approvals for building and real estate projects to be granted within three-and-a-half months of the plans being submitted to the state bodies responsible for clearing them. All projects involving built-up area of 20,000 square metres or more require green clearance.

Mumbai: The state revenue and forest department on Thursday said it would elevate mangroves on government land in and around Mumbai from ‘protected forests’ to ‘reserved forests’ under section 4 of

Hopes Rise For Better Quality Of Life

Mumbai: The state forest department wants to take over all vacant private forest land for which no building proposal has been sanctioned.

Principal secretary (revenue and forests) Praveen Pardeshi said the department had made the demand before the Supreme Court, which is currently hearing various matters on the private forest land issue. The Hillside Residents’ Welfare Association (HIRWA), which is seeking regularization of over one lakh flats in the Mumbai-Thane belt on private forest land, has filed a petition under Article 32 of the Constitution that pertains to right to shelter as a fundamental right. A three-judge bench has been constituted to hear these matters. The next hearing is on July 9.

Rejected Proposals Can Be Reviewed

Mumbai: Stringent guidelines framed by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) for the clearance of high-rise proposals in Mumbai can be treated as only advisory in nature, state environment secretary Valsa-Nair Singh has informed the State Environment Appraisal Committee-2 (SEAC-2).
Nair-Singh has told the SEAC-2, which scrutinizes high-rise proposals from Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), that a Bombay high court order of April 10 allows proposals already rejected based on the guidelines to be reconsidered within eight weeks of the order.

MUMBAI: Activists have denounced the Kasturirangan high level working group for the exclusion of Dodamarg from ecologically sensitive areas (ESA) in its recommendations to the Union ministry of environment and forests.

The group was set up to review the report submitted by the Madhav Gadgil led Western Ghats ecology expert panel. "Dodamarg has been excluded and left open for mining. The Sawantwadi-Dodamarg wildlife corridor minus Dodamarg is a non-entity. Dodamarg is more eco-fragile than Sawantwadi.

Mumbai: The state government has decided to completely do away with charging premiums for Maharashtra Housing Area Development Authority (Mhada) redevelopment projects in lieu of extra floor space

Mumbai: The BMC and not the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), will undertake the next water supply project for the city.

The city will receive 865 million litres daily (mld) once the project is completed, which is expected in a decade.
The MMRDA had announced in 2010 that it would develop the Rs 8,500-crore Pinjal water supply project at its cost. The state irrigation department had even granted in-principle approval for the project. But the MMRDA recently informed the department that it was no longer interested in taking up the project as it has been able to tap water from other sources for the metropolitan region.

Mumbai: Mining will not be allowed in areas declared as forests, wildlife sanctuaries and buffer zones.

These were among the new rules for mining of minor minerals that were approved by the state cabinet on Wednesday to make mining an ecologically sustainable industry. Now, every district will have to prepare a district mining plan to be monitored by a committee headed by the collector. Mining will be allowed only during the day and to reduce noise, air and water pollution, only scientific excavation will be permitted.

In an ambitious attempt to rejuvenate mangroves in Mumbai, the state government is about to launch a Rs 50 lakh mangrove plantation programme covering 60 hectares across the city this weekend.

On Saturday, volunteers armed with pickaxes and shovels will enter mangrove areas abutting the Eastern Express Highway to remove garbage and break bunds that obstruct the flow of tidal waters. The programme will kick off near the Bhandup sewage pumping station to mark the World Wetlands Day on February 2.