BENGALURU:  Finally,  Bengalureans can heave a sigh of relief as the Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday set aside the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order on revised buffer zones for lakes and rajakaluves. In 2016, the NGT had increased the 30-metre buffer zone around lakes in Bengaluru to 75 metres and this would have impacted lakhs of houses in the city.

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has decided to issue the Occupancy Certificates (OCs) and Commencement Certificates (CCs) for those properties and construction projects whose approval was put on hold due to the May 4, 2016 NGT order. Speaking to The New Indian Express, BBMP Commissioner N Manjunatha Prasad said, “We will  issue OCs and CCs to all these pending applications. This will benefit about 35,000 properties in the city.”  

The BBMP had earlier said it had not issued OCs and CCs to 31,500 buildings and 256 housing projects due to increased buffer zone set by NGT. Officials had said these property owners had taken the building plan approvals many years ago but had completed the projects after May 4, 2016, the date of the NGT order. Though these buildings had eligibility, the NGT order had put their legality on hold.However, after SC setting aside the NGT order, hopes among the apartment owners and builders have risen. Builders and federation of housing apartments in the city have welcomed the apex court order. 

Suresh Hari, Vice President, CREDAI, said, “It is the order we have been waiting for all these days. We are not against the environment, but there also has to be some practicality when the city is growing at a faster pace. We also said the previous order was not sustainable as the value of all those properties, since long in the city, had become zero because of the NGT order.

I think the Karnataka Government very clearly took a stand in the matter that the NGT order can’t be implemented. We welcome this order by the Supreme Court.”Muralidhar Rao, Vice President, Bangalore Apartment Federation, told The New Indian Express that, “I am really happy with today’s judgment. I think the NGT over-stretched the matter.”

DyCM HAILS ORDER
Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara has welcomed the SC’s order. “While the Buffer Zone rules for other cities were recommended by NGT to be 15 metres and 35 metres, the same for Bengaluru was ordered to be 75 metres. We had challenged it as the order was affecting about 36,000 properties in the city. The judgment has finally come in our favour,” he said.