The Bombay High Court on Tuesday observed that frequent monsoon waterlogging in Mumbai cannot be blamed solely on the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), saying encroachments, blockage of drains and misuse of public infrastructure have contributed significantly to the city’s flood problems.
Hearing a matter related to road widening at Mandala village on Sion-Trumpay stretch, a bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra V Ghog and Justice Gautam Ankhad observed that many issues leading to waterlogging emanate from public action and not from civic authorities alone.
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“We are destined to see rainwater on the roads. We cannot prevent it. We have an uncanny knack for grabbing land. We block the gutters. A small wave of rain blocks the roads. It is of our own making,” Acting Chief Justice Gouge said, quoted by Barr & Bench.
The court also referred to the misuse of public places. “The company gave us footpaths, and we started putting pav bhaji kiosks on them. Our habit is to steal our motherland,” the judge said.
Court requests DAE response on road widening
The Indian Express reported that these observations came as the court was hearing the BMC’s plea to acquire land from the Department of Atomic Energy to widen a road in Mandala village from 30 feet to 50 feet.
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The bench issued notice to the DAE after the civic body informed the court that it has already removed encroachments from the land under its control and the remaining lands required for the project belong to the department.
BMC says the width depends on DAE land
While appearing before the BMC, senior advocate Milind Sathe told the court that the civic body has removed encroachments along the existing 30-feet-wide road, a process that also included felling of nearly 192 trees, the Indian Express reported.
However, he said the additional land needed to widen the road to 50 feet is under the control of DAE, which oversees the nearby Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC).
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Sathi stated that the civic body is ready to expand the road if the required land is made available.
After hearing the applications, the Supreme Court noted that the Ministry of Atomic Energy will have to decide whether it is ready to provide the additional land needed for the road widening.
