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    Delhi RERA seeks pollution exemption for projects

    Synopsis

    "Since, RERA registered projects are required to be completed within a given time frame, in the interest of allottees, I request you to kindly exempt them from the ban under GRAP," said Delhi RERA chairperson Anand Kumar in the letter.

    real-estate-BCCL
    The real estate regulatory authority of Delhi has written to the chairperson of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) urging the authorities to not ban construction of RERA registered projects due to pollution as it will adversely impact the delivery to homebuyers.

    The move comes after the CII Delhi Sub-committee on Real Estate and the Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI)-NCR submitted a representation to RERA of Delhi, UP and Gurgaon to exempt projects from the construction ban.

    As per the revised Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) for the National Capital Region, if the situation turns "severe" (Stage III), the authorities will have to enforce a ban on construction and demolition activities in the NCR, except on essential projects (like railways, metros, airports, ISBTs, national security/defense-related projects of national importance) and non-polluting activities such as plumbing, carpentry, interior decoration, and electrical work.

    "Since, RERA registered projects are required to be completed within a given time frame, in the interest of allottees, I request you to kindly exempt them from the ban under GRAP," said Delhi RERA chairperson Anand Kumar in the letter.

    Harsh V Bansal, Convenor, CII Delhi Sub-committee on Real Estate, Urban Development and Infrastructure and Co-Founder of Unity Group, said, "As the RERA registered projects involve public money as well as the interest of the general public (buyers), we request you to recommend CAQM to consider RERA registered projects as public interest projects and accordingly consider them for exemption under these revised guidelines."

    Developers said that RERA imposes heavy penalties on builders who delay their projects and are not able to provide possession within specified timelines, but with a ban under the GRAP, the scheduled and unscheduled bans on construction could lead to undefined delays as the remobilisation becomes a challenge.

    "Construction goes on round the year but there is no pollution and the air remains clean for most of the time. It is only at the start of the winter when the situation worsens. The government should do a study around it instead of banning its construction. This impacts the real estate sector and lakhs of homebuyers, "said Manoj Gaur, President CREDAI-NCR and CMD, Gaurs Group.

    Brick kilns, hot mix plants and stone crushers not operating on clean fuels, and mining and associated activities in NCR will also be banned under Stage III.

    "The construction sector involves migrant workers. Many workers who leave on the announcement of a ban do not come back once it is lifted, presuming that it might get extended, which means a one-month ban leads to much more than a one-month delay," said Bansal.

    The Confederation of Indian Industry has also requested the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in NCR to come up with a better strategy on the ban on diesel gen-sets (DG sets) rather than penalising the industry.

    The group representing the industry has suggested that the deadline for switching to PNG/CNG or dual hybrid technology and retrofitting emission control devices be pushed back at least a year.


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