Mumbai, Feb 13: Calling the civic body’s stand a “lame excuse” and a “complete abdication of its powers”, the Bombay High Court on Friday came down heavily on the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for failing to act against encroachments on a busy road in suburban Powai.
A bench of Justices Ravindra Ghuge and Abhay Mantri said the corporation was statutorily bound to discharge its duties and could not adopt a position that effectively appeased encroachers.
“We are surprised by the stand taken by the BMC, which is really astounding. The stand of the BMC amounts to virtually giving up that area to encroachers,” the bench observed.
Petition by school flags inaction
The court was hearing a petition filed by Beaumont HFSI School and its principal, Kalyani Patnaik, alleging that despite repeated complaints, the BMC failed to remove slum dwellers occupying a road near the institute. The petitioners claimed the civic body instead facilitated the encroachments by providing toilets and water.
On Thursday, the court had directed the BMC to file an affidavit submitting a plan for removal of the encroachments. It had also directed the Assistant Municipal Commissioner (AMC) of the concerned ward to remain present in court for the hearing on Friday.
Affidavit lacks removal plan
Accordingly, the AMC was present and an affidavit was filed, wherein it stated only that the mobile toilets would be removed within 48 hours. There was “not a whisper” about a plan for removal of the encroachers.
In its affidavit, the BMC maintained that the stretch was a private road owned by a developer and therefore beyond its enforcement authority.
Rejecting the justification, the bench said the explanation reflected that the civic body lacked the “will, desire, courage or means” to deal with the problem.
Court questions ‘private road’ argument
The judges noted that the road was extensively used for public and vehicular passage. They questioned how such a “private road”, used extensively by the public, could escape civic responsibility merely because of ownership.
“We know the law — we want you to implement the law,” the court told the BMC.
Senior advocate Naushad Engineer, appearing for the petitioners, argued that statutory provisions required the corporation to ensure smooth vehicular and pedestrian passage on all streets used by citizens, including private roads.
He submitted that the builder had constructed the road and handed it over to the BMC. He further argued that even if it were a private road, and citizens complained about encroachments to the BMC, the builder would not have the authority to remove them.
‘Mumbai is being surrendered’
Expressing dissatisfaction over the absence of a clear timeline in the affidavit, the bench remarked, “Mumbai is being surrendered to encroachers… This is complete abdication of powers.”
In its detailed order, the court noted that after the “marathon” hearing on Thursday, it had asked the BMC to provide a plan for removal of the encroachments, which the civic body failed to comply with..
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10-day deadline, contempt warning
The court directed the Municipal Commissioner to submit, within 10 days, a concrete plan to remove the encroachments, cautioning that it should not be an “eyewash”.
It also ordered the removal of mobile toilet units from the road within 48 hours and warned that continued inaction could invite contempt proceedings.
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