Mumbai, July 7, 2026: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday said citizens should stop blaming the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) alone for Mumbai's chronic monsoon waterlogging, observing that encroachments, clogged drains and misuse of public infrastructure have made the problem “our own creation”.
The observations came while a Bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad was hearing the BMC's interim application seeking directions to the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to hand over land required to widen a road at Mandala village on the Sion-Trombay stretch.
BMC Seeks Land For Road
Senior Advocate Milind Sathe, appearing for the BMC, submitted that the civic body had already removed encroachments from its portion of the existing 30-foot-wide road and felled around 192 trees for the project. However, the remaining land required to widen the road to 50 feet belongs to the DAE, which oversees the nearby Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).
Sathe told the Court that the BMC was ready to widen the road if the DAE handed over the encroachment-free land.
Court Blames Public Apathy
During the hearing, Justice Ghuge remarked that the city's flooding could not be blamed solely on the civic body. “We should stop blaming the corporation. The corporation gave us drainage lines. We filled up the drainage lines. They put pavement blocks. We started parking our cars on them,” the judge said.
He added that people routinely encroach on public land and choke drains, leading to flooding after even short spells of rain. “We have an uncanny knack for grabbing lands. We put all the dirt and material inside that, we block the gutters... One small spell of rain blocks the roads in Mumbai. It's our own creation,” Justice Ghuge observed.
Referring to encroachments outside the High Court, the judge said footpaths had been occupied by photocopy kiosks, tea stalls and juice vendors. “You can't walk. What will the corporation do? Our habit is to rob our own motherland,” he remarked.
The Bench also criticised people for invoking legal safeguards only after demolition action begins. “When the corporation comes for demolition, you say ‘give me seven days' notice’. Then suddenly the law books are opened. When you grab the land, nobody reads the law,” Justice Ghuge said.
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Notice Issued To DAE
The Court issued notice to the DAE on the BMC's plea, observing that the department would have to take a decision on providing the additional land required for widening the road. The matter will be heard later this month.
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