Mumbai : The Bombay High Court on Monday asked the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), the Thane zilla parishad and Dawadi village gram panchayat to initiate and co-ordinate action to ensure that illegal structures in Thane’s villages are demolished.
A division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice A K Menon was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Vasudev Bhoir, a local resident of Dawadi village, stating that several illegal constructions have come up in the village, especially after 1999 and have grown after 2005. The PIL urges for these to be razed, but also states that authorities keep shifting onus and responsibility to do so and therefore it prays for general directions by the court.
Advocate Kiran Bagalia representing the MMRDA stated that it has been appointed by the state only for special planning after 2005 and that it doesn’t have power of demolition under the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act (MRTP), 1966. She further added, the MMRDA will step in to demolish the illegal structures once they are given sufficient machinery and police protection to do so.
The court has asked to amend the petition and make the zilla parishad a respondent to the PIL. It has observed that prima facie the village gram panchayat and the MMRDA have powers to take action against illegal structures. Further, it has also directed the MMRDA to convene a meeting with the village gram panchayat and zilla parishad for the purpose of taking appropriate action against illegal structures in Dawadi in four weeks.
