Mumbai: The BMC seems to be in no mood to protect the residents of Mahul village, which is being described as a toxic hell. The civic body has accordingly moved the Supreme Court, further putting the “safety” at risk the lives of more than 35,000 residents.
The civic agency has moved the apex court challenging orders of the Bombay High Court, by which the civic body was asked to immediately make arrangements for shifting the residents to a safer place. The HC had also directed the Maharashtra government to pay Rs15000 monthly to the residents as rent, so they can live at some alternate places. The government was further ordered to grant Rs45,000 as a deposit amount.
Notably, the residents have been staging protest at Ghatkopar, seeking safer homes for the last 200 days. The residents have tried to highlight the fact that over 200 people have died at Mahul over the last two years and a large number of residents have been suffering from respiratory diseases, owing to the high levels of air pollution.
The orders were passed by a bench of the HC, led by Justice Abhay Oka after perusing reports of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay. The IIT-Bombay had in its report termed Mahul as an unsafe place for humans and had recommended immediate shifting of the residents to a safer place.
Trashing the report, the BMC has now claimed that the IIT-B had no jurisdiction to look into the environmental aspect of the issue. The civic body has further claimed the IIT-B was never asked to look into this aspect and in fact the institute has gone beyond its terms of reference to survey Mahul.
“The HC without adjudicating whether the air pollution level or ambient air quality is even prima facie of the level which would warrant protective orders has insisted upon the government to provide alternate accommodation or monetary compensation by way of monthly rent to these project affected persons,” the plea filed by the BMC states.
The civic body has further stated that the government has no policy to provide such a monetary compensation to any PAPs.
The civic body has accordingly, petitioned the vacation bench of the Supreme Court, which is likely to hear the matter on Friday.
