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Journalism of Courage
The Bombay High Court today ruled that the Rs 20,000 crore redevelopment across 600 acres of defunct-mill land was against existing laws and had been done without prior clearance.
Upholding a PIL filed by Bombay Environmental Action Group, the judgment by Justices S Radhakrishnan and S Dharmadhikari means that redevelopment now underway in central Mumbai’s sprawling mill lands will have to be shared three-way with government organisations for public housing and public open spaces.
More than 20 redevelopment projects of multi-crore apartment towers and office complexes are now on hold.
The judgment said: ‘‘All the constructions carried out by various developers are clearly in violation of EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) Notification as amended on July 7, 2004, as admittedly none of them have obtained clearance from Ministry of Environment and Forests.’’
They also ruled that National Textile Corporation’s auction of five nationalised mill lands—buyers included big developers like Shiv Sena leaders Raj Thackeray and Manohar Joshi, together paying Rs 2,000 crore —is illegal since it violates a Supreme Court approved revival plan. The projects, many financed by institutions like HDFC and ICICI, are already in an advanced stage of development.
‘‘The Supreme Court must take this up on an urgent basis,’’ HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh told The Indian Express.
While mill owners, the NTC and private developers will challenge the judgment in the Supreme Court, planners and environmentalists were euphoric.
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The Paper Trail
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THE RULE: As per Development Control Regulation (58)—it was upheld on Monday— bankrupt mills could be redeveloped, provided two-thirds of the land was shared for open spaces and public housing. There were few takers |
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