The Bombay High Court has directed civic authorities in Maharashtra not to grant Occupancy Certificates (OCs) to any structure unless developers strictly comply with building permissions and put in place proper sewage management systems, PTI reported.

According to the news agency, a bench of Justices Ravindra Ghuge and Abhay Mantri noted the “enormous magnitude” of the problem caused by sewage being discharged into the Ulhas river due to the absence of proper sewage treatment plants (STPs) at 438 allegedly unauthorised structures in Thane district.