Item No.2 (Pune Bench)

BEFORE THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL WESTERN ZONE BENCH, PUNE [Through Physical Hearing (With Hybrid Option)] ORIGINAL APPLICATION NO.31 OF 2024 (WZ)

Legacy Fortune Exotica …. Applicant Versus M/s Bansal Fortune & Ors. .…Respondents Date of hearing : 20.02.2024 CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE DINESH KUMAR SINGH, JUDICIAL MEMBER HON’BLE DR. VIJAY KULKARNI, EXPERT MEMBER Applicant : Mr. V.S. Balkawade, Advocate

ORDER

1. In compliance with our previous order, learned counsel for the applicant has submitted the list of documents today in order to convince us that as per law, direction is required to be issued to the builder – respondent No.1 to set up STP in the building in question. For this, he has drawn our attention to the notification dated 09.12.1999 (annexed at pages 166 to 171 of the paper-book), wherein at point No.15.21, following is recorded :

“Recycling of Waste Water – Installation of system of recycling of waste water from bathrooms & kitchen sinks (excluding water closet) is mandatory in building layouts having net plot area (excluding area under D.P. Reservations, D.P. Roads/Road widening) of 4000 sq.m. & above. The recycling system shall be installed as per the norms & specifications decided by the Municipal Commissioner, from time to time. The treated water may be used for gardening & for all purpose other than drinking.”

2. The learned counsel, after having drawn our attention to above provision, states that in compliance with above, the Municipal Commissioner, Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation was required to lay down norms/specifications as to how the treated water may be used. But so far, that has not been done. The learned counsel thereafter has drawn our attention to an effort being made to change the above norms and for this, he drew our attention to an order dated 25.01.2016, issued by the Govt. of Maharashtra, Urban Development Department, wherein a direction was issued that proper resolution would be presented for approval to the Government to include the right provision in the prevalent control rules of the Municipal Corporations apart from Bruhanmumbai Municipal Corporation and Nagpur Municipal Corporation, through action under Maharashtra Regional Planning & Town Planning Act, 1966 Section 154 r/w Section 37(2). The provisions of Section 154 would apply from the date of forwarding the said order. Having drawn our attention to said order, it is urged by the learned counsel that proper resolution was required to be presented by the Municipal Commissioner, Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation before the Govt. of Maharashtra, but he does not know as to whether same has been done till now or not. He has tried to obtain information in this regard under the Right to Information Act by moving an application dated 13.02.2023, which is in Marathi (page 163 and its English translation is at page 164 of the paper-book) (the date of the application has been wrongly typewritten, as told by the learned counsel and according to him, it should be “13.02.2024”), whereby information was sought regarding the proposal approved and the date of approval on which it was sent to Government of Maharashtra by Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation to include the provision of Sewage Water Management and Recycling in the Development Control Rules under Maharashtra Regional Planning and Town Planning Act, 1966, Section 154 r/w Section 37(1). Having drawn our attention to this application, the learned counsel urged that despite this information having been sought, no reply has been received by him so far.

3. At this stage, we intervened and asked the learned counsel for the applicant as to how reliefs could be granted to the effect of issuance of direction to the Project Proponent to set up a STP in the property in question when there existed no Rule on the date of filing of this Original Application, to which he could not answer.

4. We do not find any substance in the argument made by the learned counsel that in r