Maharashtra Protests Against SC’s Blanket Construction Ban, Says Not Applicable To The State

Maharashtra Principal Secretary Nitin Kareer has claimed that the Supreme Court order that bans construction activities should not apply to the state, The Hindu has reported.

The Supreme Court had banned all construction activity in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and the Union Territory of Chandigarh till 9 October after they did not formulate a solid waste management plan as per an earlier order.

“There are two parts to this order. The first is regarding States that had not followed up on the court’s earlier order. The second directive pertains to states that do not have a solid waste management policy in place. Maharashtra is not specifically named in this order, and this should not be applicable [to] us since we already have such a policy,” the Principal Secretary had said.

Further, he added that his state would inform the court about this as soon as possible. “There is no question of a blanket ban on construction activities in our State”, Kareer said.

Meanwhile, builders in Chandigarh said that the order would lead to a spike in real estate prices in the union territory. Builders association Credai flagged concerns over job losses due to the Supreme Court order.

The Goa Foundation, an environmental non-governmental organisation (NGO) welcomed the order.