BMC under fire for issuing occupancy certificate to building without water supply: Bombay High Court
The Bombay High Court ias alarmed that the BMC considered a building without water supply to be eligible for occupancy certificate under the learned bench of Justices G.S. Patel & Gauri Godse, JJ. in the case of Subodh M Joshi Versus Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai & Ors (WRIT PETITION (L) NO. 21683 OF 2022
FACTS OF THE CASE:
The project in question is something called Integrated ‘Arya’ at village Kirol, Narayan Nagar, Ghatkopar West, Mumbai 400 086. The Petitioner is concerned with one flat. We are told that this is flat C-501, i.e., flat No. 501 on the fifth floor of Wing ‘C’. The building in question is free sale building but is a rehab building to which the Petitioner is entitled. That is undisputed. It is also undisputed that the Petitioner is presently in transit accommodation being paid for and provided by the 3rd Respondent, Integrated Spaces Limited. The building owner/developer claims that five of the six buildings in this project, including Wing ‘C’, with which we are concerned, are ‘complete’ and ‘ready for occupation’. The court is told that 30 persons are already in occupation and have taken up their respective tenements.The reality is entirely different, one can see unfinished flooring, exposed wiring, lifts that are in no sense ready, raw concrete slabs, staircases without hand rails, water- logging and more.This building is in no sense ready for occupation — at least not by human beings. Thus the petition ensued.
OBSERVATION OF THE COURT:
The Bench stated that “We intend to pass a direction in future that no Occupation Certificate is to be issued unless the developer can demonstrate that he has already made preparations by laying the appropriate pipelines for connecting to the municipal mains. In high rise buildings all lifts (not construction elevators or construction lifts) must be in full working order. It must not be forgotten that when we are talking about people moving in, this includes the old and the infirm and young children as well. Saying that a building is ready but providing a staircase without a guard or a handrail is to put at risk the lives of future residents of this building.
Therefore, until there is provision made by this builder for laying the pipelines in preparedness for a water connection, the so- called Part Occupancy Certificate stands suspended. None of the Part Occupancy Certificates issued to the builders for any of the buildings are to be acted upon for any purpose until connections to Municipal water mains are demonstrated to us to be ready. This restraint will operate only until the next date.”
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Judgement reviewed by – Sudarshana Jha