Supreme Court stays Bombay HC order on Recreational Grounds

The Supreme Court has stayed the order of the Bombay High Court of January which permitted builders to provide recreation grounds (RG) on higher level or the podiums of their towers. 

A division bench of Justices Abhay Oka and Rajesh Bindal, on May 8, stayed the HC order saying: “In the meanwhile, there will be stay of the directions contained in the impugned order passed by the High Court.”

Special Leave Petition (SLP) hearing heard by SC

The SC passed the order while hearing a Special Leave Petition (SLP) by advocate Sagar Devre challenging the HC order contending that RG should always be on the ground level as mandated by the Supreme Court of India in an earlier judgment. 

The HC bench headed by acting chief justice SV Gangapurwala, on January 27, had passed the order while hearing a petition by National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO), a self-regulatory real estate body, after State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) refused to consider several proposals pending before it in view of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) registrar’s e-mail communication based on a Sept 13, 2022, order in the case of Kalpataru Developers.

The NGT, on September 13 last year, had said a RG should be open to the sky to enable the planting of trees, failing which a project may not be allowed to proceed. 

SC issues notice to the state, SEIAA

The HC had directed SEIAA to decide within eight weeks, on merit, the real estate proposals which are pending for environmental clearance. The HC had noted that the NGT’s order wouldn’t apply anymore as the 1991 DCR were replaced by the DPCR 2034. Under the new rules, only a particular portion of the open space needed to be on the ground and the rest could be on a podium.

Before the apex court, Devre’s advocate, Vivek Shukla, argued that the HC judgment has overstepped the Judgments of SC and NGT. The HC, in its detailed order, admitted in para no. 18 that the RG should be given on the ground level as per SC Judgment, but in the operative order gave a contrary direction to its said observation and SC direction as well by permitting the RG on podium level. 

The apex court had held that providing RG area on ground is a requirement of the good life quality of the residents. The High Court did not consider the directions of the Supreme Court but sought to by-pass it and the order of NGT as well, added Shukla. 

The SC also issued notice to the state, SEIAA, Slum Rehabilitation Authority and Naredco and kept the matter for hearing on July 31.