Around 1 lakh people in Mumbai’s Kandivali and Malad area are suffering and the fact that they live around the army’s Central Ordnance Depot (COD) is to blame. Their homes are aging and many are dilapidated and in desperate need of redevelopment. But they cannot go for that option thanks to a government ruling that requires them to take a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the military.

Redevelopment Projects Come To A Standstill

The problems started in 2011, when the government made it mandatory for an NOC to be granted for the construction of any building 4 stories or higher within a 500-meter radius of a military installation. The COD sprawls across 17 acres and nearly 1 Lakh people are living in thousands of buildings across its edges.

The ruling immediately dashed any hopes they had of redeveloping their homes and in fact, nearly 50 ongoing redevelopment projects were put on hold. Complying with the rule has not worked either, as the government has not issued a single NOC in the past 5 years. Unable to cope with the losses, some developers have even stopped giving rents to the tenants, compounding the problems of the people living here. Now, affected residents and developers have formed an association called the ‘COD Sufferers’ and are fighting with authorities to rethink this rule.

“Most of the projects in this locality are redevelopment ones. We have already paid rents to the tenants and premiums to the BMC. We have incurred huge loss financially.” says Vishal Shah, a developer working in the area and the Founder of the ‘COD Sufferers’ Association.

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Are Faster Approvals Possible?

The defence minister recently wrote a letter to the Maharashtra Chief Minister stating that that the Local Military Authority (LMA) will have to respond to NOC applications within 30 days of it being filed. In case there is no response, the state and municipal authority can then decide on the matter. Although this deemed approval looks good on paper, many feel it may not translate to action on the ground.

“The Bombay Municipal corporation officers are very slow. I am sorry to say they are not acting according to the law and hence people are suffering.” complains Gopal Shetty, the Member of Parliament from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

That’s not all. NDTV spoke to experts who claim that the circular passed in November 2011 may not be legal.

“This rule which makes it mandatory to take permission from LMA is not contained in the Works of Defence Act (WDA). This circular has been issued to create a stop gap arrangement till the time you bring changes in the WDA. So is the circular even legal?” asks property expert Vinay Singh.

That’s a question the government needs to answer and soon. When the depot first came up, these were remote areas with little to no development going on. But as the city grew, so did these regions and now they are considered to be among the most densely populated. It might make sense for the depot to be shifted further away, especially in light of the recent Phulgaon depot fire which claimed 16 lives.

Reporter : Ashwini Priolker, NDTV
Web Editor : Nikhil Narayan Sivadas, NDTV