In a relief for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority [MMRDA], the Bombay high court has dismissed a petition by over 150 slum dwellers seeking to conduct a fresh survey of the Project Affected Persons (PAP) for the Metro 6 project from Swami Samarth Nagar–JVLR–SEEPZ–Kanjurmarg–Vikhroli (EEH) Metro Rail Corridor.
A division bench of RD Dhanuka and MG Sewlikar, on June 27, dismissed the petition filed by the slum dwellers observing that there were seriously disputed questions of facts. “The petitioners are directed to vacate the existing structures which they claim to be in possession within two weeks from today to the MMRDA,” said HC.
The HC was hearing a petition filed by Anusha Tarasam and others seeking that MMRDA is directed to conduct a fresh survey to determine whether the petitioners’ structures are situated on the lands identified and earmarked as required for the Metro 6 line. They also prayed for the inclusion of their hutments in the Socio-Economic Baseline Survey for the Metro 6 project.
According to slum dwellers, they are the PAPs residing in the hutments in a slum on the plot of land having C.T.S. No.43 alongside the Jogeshwari railway station in Jogeshwari (East) ward is located and are daily wage earner. PAP definition also includes pavement dwellers and squatters on the land, they contended.
They alleged that the MMRDA did not follow the prescribed procedure for carrying out the survey and to determine the cut-off date. Hence, the petitioners’ names were not included as PAPs.
However, MMRDA disputed their claims stating that during the survey, petitioners’ hutments were not found in the affected area. “On viewing the survey map prepared by the Drone Survey at the said location no slums were seen at the said location,” said MMRDA adding that it has declared PAP those slum dwellers whose hutments were found at the location at the time of the survey.
The MMRDA argued that the court would have to first decide whether the hutments of the petitioners’ were at the site at the time of the survey.
MMRDA had appointed a private agency to conduct the survey which commenced the baseline survey of the area of Subhash Nagar, affected by the alignment of Metro Line 6, from March 19, 2019, to June 8, 2019. The report submitted by the agency stated that insofar as the Subhash Nagar area is concerned, only 27 structures were found which would be affected. They were offered permanent alternate accommodation.
The HC said: “In our view, there are seriously disputed questions of facts involved in this petition. It is not possible to ascertain the correctness of the allegations made in the petition whether these hutment dwellers are already in possession of their respective structures and whether these structures were in existence on the date of carrying out the survey by the MMRDA or not.”
“This Court is not expected to verify each and every document produced by the petitioners and to verify with the maps annexed by the parties in support of their rival contentions and to render a finding that whether these structures though were in existence at the time of MMRDA carrying out the survey, their names were wrongly not included in the list of structures on the date of carrying out the survey,” added the court while dismissing the petition.
