Mumbai, Feb 12: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday pulled up the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) over alleged inaction against encroachments on a key Powai road, remarking that the civic body appeared to be “surrendering Mumbai to encroachers” instead of keeping public roads clear.
A bench of Justices Ravindra Ghuge and Abhay Mantri also slammed the civic body for “lack of will, desire and courage” to take action against the encroachers and asked what would become of Mumbai in the next two decades if illegal encroachments continued unchecked.
“If a stop is not put to this (illegal structures), in the future people would be forced to use only two-wheelers, bicycles or horses on roads which would be taken over by encroachers,” the court observed.
Petition over 90-foot road obstruction
The court was hearing a petition by Beaumont HFSI Pre-primary School in Powai and its principal Kalyani Patnai, which complained that a nearly 90-foot-wide road connecting several schools to the Jogeshwari–Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR) had been encroached upon by hutments, toilets and other structures, severely obstructing pedestrians and motorists.
Senior advocate Naushad Engineer, appearing for the petitioners, submitted that repeated complaints to the BMC had yielded no concrete action. He alleged that the civic body had, in fact, installed toilets and supplied water to encroachers. “It was the BMC which went and installed toilets and is supplying water to these encroachers,” he argued, pointing to photographs on record.
Court questions civic resolve
Visibly displeased, the bench said: “Why don’t you (BMC) tell us that you don’t have the will, desire and courage to remove encroachers. Then we will record that Mumbai is surrendered to encroachers.”
Referring to the photographs, the court added that if the encroachments continued, “people will have to ride a bicycle” on what is meant to be a major road. “Everywhere, roads are left with only one or two lanes and then there are traffic jams. Cars cannot move — a person walks faster than such cars stuck in jams,” it remarked.
BMC advocate Dhruti Kapadia told the court that officials faced resistance and even attacks when attempting demolition drives. She sought two months’ time to clear the encroachments.
Warning of contempt action
The judges, however, criticised what they termed a pattern of appeasement. “When squatters realise that when they squat on a concrete road, BMC will give them a toilet… you are generous towards encroachers,” the bench observed, adding that the civic body was “in quicksand” of its own making. It added: “Isn't the BMC promoting encroachments like this? This is a grim situation. If you stop giving them water and toilet facilities, they will move. But you have been giving them (facilities) on a platter.”
When informed that a movable toilet could not be removed, the bench reacted sharply: “This is a ‘firta shauchalay’ (moving toilet). It has to be put up on a truck and moved… You are promoting encroachment.”
Calling the situation “grim”, the court warned of strict consequences if timelines were not honoured. “This is the last chance… otherwise we will initiate suo motu contempt,” it said, likening the cycle of removal and reappearance of encroachments to a “Tom and Jerry show.”
The bench directed the deputy municipal commissioner concerned to remain present in court and file an affidavit stating a firm timeline for removal of the encroachments. It also ordered a senior police officer from the Powai area to be present to assist the court regarding protection during demolition.
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The judges remarked that people have limited time on this planet and each person's endeavour must be to keep the environment and the city in such a good condition that the next generation reaps its benefits. “Our next generation should not say we have been callous with our city,” it said.
Emphasising the broader public impact, the judges noted that heavy school traffic and daily commuting had been crippled. “We are more concerned with the hurt caused to people of Mumbai,” the bench said.
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