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Old Rules applicable to CRZ-II areas of Mumbai will soon be obsolete - Development control rules 1967

The Coastal Regulation Zone Notification dated January 18, 2019 (“CRZ 2019”), requires the respective Coastal Zone Management Plans (“CZMPs”) framed under the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification dated January 6, 2011 (“CRZ 2011”) to be revised or updated as per CRZ 2019, before being submitted to the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (“MOEFCC”). CRZ 2019 says that until and unless the CZMPs are so revised or updated, the provisions under CRZ 2011 will continue to be followed[1].  Accordingly, suggestions/ comments on the draft revised/ updated CZMPs of Mumbai city and Mumbai Suburban District under CRZ 2019 were invited for a period of 45 days commencing from January 16, 2020.[2] After district level hearings have been conducted[3] and based on the suggestions and objections received, the CZMPs will be revised and approval of the MOEFCC shall be obtained.[4] This has specific implications for construction projects in CRZ-II areas of Mumbai.Continue Reading Farewell to DCR 1967: Old Rules applicable to CRZ-II areas of Mumbai will soon be obsolete

Introduction to the Biodiversity Act of India

India is known to the world for its diversified biological resources. Arising out of its obligations as a signatory to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity held at Rio de Janerio in 1992, and “to provide for conservation of Biological Diversity, sustainable use of its components and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use of biological resources and knowledge”, the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 (BD Act) was enacted by India to regulate access to, and use of, its biological resources.

In essence, the BD Act mandates approvals from the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) and to inform State Biodiversity Authorities (SBAs) for people to access and use biological resources, or knowledge associated thereto, for research purposes, commercial utilisation, bio-survey and bio-utilisation, for applying intellectual property or for transferring results of research.
Continue Reading The Biodiversity Act of India: An Introduction

Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) developed the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL Convention) with the aim of preventing pollution of the marine environment by ships. Regulations for the Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships are provided for in Annexure VI to the MARPOL Convention and they seek to control airborne emissions from ships by prescribing limits on emissions.

Today, the shipping sector accounts for 12% of global sulphur dioxide emissions, 13% of global nitrogen oxide emissions and 3% of global carbon emissions.[1] Shipping fuel constitutes 7% of the global transport oil demand – however, global shipping emissions account for 90% of the transport sector’s sulphur emissions.
Continue Reading Laundered Air on the High Seas- IMO 2020

National Green Tribunanal Act and Real Estate

The first part of this two-part blog discussed the facts that led to the filing of appeals before the Supreme Court challenging the NGT’s judgment dated May 4, 2016 and certain key issues discussed by the Supreme Court in its Judgment disposing of these appeals. In this piece, the second part of the two-part blog, we discuss other significant issues that have been dealt with in the Judgment and analyse the findings to deduce the reasoning employed by the Supreme Court in reaching its decision.
Continue Reading Supreme Court’s Diktat on Powers of the NGT: Can Developers Finally Rest Easy? – Part 2

Supreme Court’s Diktat on Powers of the NGT: Can Developers Finally Rest Easy?

Introduction

The Hon’ble National Green Tribunal, Principal Bench, New Delhi (NGT), vide the judgment dated May 4, 2016 in the Original Application No. 222 of 2014 (Original Application), passed certain orders, which had wide scale impact on the real estate developers in the city of Bengaluru. The NGT directed that the buffer zones maintained around lakes and rajakaluves (drains) were to be increased substantially more than provided under the zoning regulations in the Revised Master Plan 2015 (RMP 2015). The RMP 2015 provided for buffer zones of 30 meters from the centre of the lake, for primary rajakaluves it was 50 meters from the centre of the rajakaluve, for secondary rajakaluves, it was fixed at 25 meters and for tertiary rajakaluve it was 15 meters. The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India (Supreme Court) has recently passed a judgment in Civil Appeal No. 5016 of 2016 and other connected appeals on March 5, 2019 (Judgment). These appeals were filed challenging the NGT’s judgment dated May 4, 2016.

In this first part of a two-part blog, we discuss the facts that led to filing of the present appeals before the Supreme Court and a couple of key issues discussed in the Judgment.
Continue Reading Supreme Court’s Diktat on Powers of the NGT: Can Developers Finally Rest Easy? – Part 1

DECOMMISSIONING OF OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION FIELDS ON HIGH SEAS

The Exploration and Production (E&P) basins usually mature in about 20-30 years. What is left after the prolonged E&P phase are the abandoned installations and wells (onland), sub-sea infrastructure, platforms, and wells (offshore). Once the hydrocarbon resources are exhausted or it becomes unviable to extract them further, the E&P project moves to an abandonment phase, and the project is decommissioned. Decommissioning ensures that the E&P installations and infrastructure are removed subsequent to their abandonment and the site is restored in an environmentally sustainable way.Continue Reading Decommissioning Of Oil and Gas Production Fields on High Seas