Bombay High Court
Anita Dattatray Dhole And 6 Ors vs Municipal Corporation Of Greater ... on 13 December, 2018
Bench: A.S.Oka, Sandeep K. Shinde
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
ORIGINAL SIDE
PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION NO. 140 OF 2006
Janhit Manch and others. ... Petitioners.
V/s.
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation & another. ... Respondents.
WITH
WRIT PETITION (LDG.) NO. 874 OF 2018
WITH
WRIT PETITION (LDG.) NO. 385 OF 2018
WITH
WRIT PETITION (LDG.) NO. 1332 OF 2017
WITH
WRIT PETITION (LDG.) NO. 1664 OF 2018
WITH
WRIT PETITION (LDG.) NO. 2475 OF 2018
WITH
WRIT PETITION (LDG.) NO. 3108 OF 2017
WITH
WRIT PETITION (LDG.) NO. 3278 OF 2017
WITH
WRIT PETITION (LDG.) NO. 3301 OF 2017
WITH
WRIT PETITION (LDG.) NO. 3314 OF 2017
WITH
WRIT PETITION (LDG.) NO. 3316 OF 2017
WITH
WRIT PETITION (LDG.) NO. 3350 OF 2017
WITH
WRIT PETITION (LDG.) NO. 3368 OF 2017
WITH
WRIT PETITION (LDG.) NO. 3390 OF 2017
None for petitioner in PIL/140/2006.
Ms Ronita Bhattacharya & Mr. Kranti L. C. for petitioner in
WPL/3108/2017, WPL/3301/2017, WPL/3314/2017,
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WPL/3316/2017, WPL/3350/2017, WPL/3368/2017,
WPL/3390/2017, WPL/385/2018 & WPL/2475/18.
Mr. Nikhil Patil a/w Mr. Prabhakar Jadhav for petitioner in
WPL/3278/2017.
Ms. Juilee Ghadge i/b Mr. Himanshu Kode for Petitioner in
WPL/1158/2017, WPL/1332/17.
Mr. Prashant V. Malik a/w Mr. Irfan Ansari a/w Mr. Vaibhav
Shah i/b Mr. Nilesh Masurkar for petitioner in WP/1664/2018.
Mr. A.Y.Sakhare, SR. Counsel a/w Mr. Sagar Patil for respondent
BMC in PIL/140/2006.
Mr. Sagar Patil for respondent BMC in all other matters except
PIL/140/2006.
Mr. Girish Godbole, Spl. Counsel a/w Mr. L.T.Satelkar, AGP for
respondent State in PIL/140/2006.
Mr. Girish Godbole, Spl. Counsel a/w Ms. Geeta Shastri, Addl. G.P.
for respondent state in WPL/1158/2017, WP/1664/18 &
WPL/2475/18.
Mr. Girish Godbole, Spl. Counsel a/w Ms. Deepali Patankar, Asst. to
G.P. for res. state in WPL/3314/17 & WPL/3278/17, WPL/3108/17.
Mr. Girish Godbole, Spl. Counsel a/w Mr. Hemant Haryan, AGP for
respondent state in WPL/3316/17.
Mr. Girish Godbole, Spl. Counsel a/w Mr. Sukanta Karmakar, AGP
for resp. State in WPL/1332/2017, WPL/3301/2017 &
WPL/3350/17.
Mr. Girish Godbole, Spl. Counsel a/w Mr. S.B.Gore for respondent
State in WPL/3368/17.
Mr. Girish Godbole, Spl. Counsel a/w Mr. Manish Upadhyay, AGP
for respondent state in WPL/3390/17.
Mr. Girish Godbole, Spl. Counsel a/w Mr. Himanshu Takke, AGP for
respondent state in WPL/385/18.
Ms. Sharmila Deshmukh for respondent no. 3 in WPL/874/18 &
Respondent no. 6 & 7 in WPL/1158/17.
Mr.A.P.Kulkarni for respondent no. 3 in WPL/1158/17,
WPL/1332/17, WPL/3278/17 & for respondent no. 4 in
WPL/3108/17, WPL/3314/17, WPL/3316/17, WPL/3350/17,
WPL/3368/17, WPL/3390/17 & for respondent no. 5 in
WPL/3301/17.
Mr. Anoop Patil for respondent no. 4 in WPL/385/18.
Ms. Janhavi Rane for respondent no. 5 in WPL/3108/2017.
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CORAM : A.S.OKA & SANDEEP K. SHINDE, JJ.
DATE : 13th December 2018. P.C.:
In Writ Petition (Ldg.) No.874/2018, the Mumbai Municipal Corporation has tendered an affidavit of Shri Prithviraj Chauhan, Assistant Commissioner, M/West Ward to which there are several annexures indicating the progress made in the work of repairs to the tenements of 44 buildings. The petitioners in the pending petitions will have to deal with the said affidavit and, especially the annexures to the said affidavit. It will be appropriate if the petitioners in the pending petitions nominate not less than 10 representatives and communicate the names of their representatives to the Assistant Municipal Commissioner, M/West Ward. The Assistant Commissioner will ensure that the municipal officers who have knowledge about the work in progress accompany the representatives of the petitioners to various buildings so that necessary verification can be made by the petitioners. The petitioners shall communicate the names of their representatives at the earliest. Exercise of giving inspection shall be completed as expeditiously as possible and, in any event, on or before 3 rd January 2019. The petitioners are free to file their response to the said affidavit of Shri Prithviraj Chauhan by 10 th January 2019.
2. The learned counsel appearing for the State Government has placed on record interim report dated 12 th December 2018 submitted by IIT, Mumbai. The report is an eye opener. In the report, it is mentioned that the location of township in Mahul which is in close proximity to ::: Uploaded on - 19/12/2018 ::: Downloaded on - 27/12/2018 06:42:05 ::: SKN 4/6 140.06-pil--.doc refineries, eco-sensitive zones, industrial areas and chemical storage complexes is a key contributor to pollution affecting health, life, livability and overall quality of life. It is also mentioned therein that it also creates multiple hazards and scope for disaster and makes the entire area highly vulnerable and risky with respect to social, economic, physical, medical and environmental aspects. There are several other observations made in the interim report after conducting certain tests. The report also deals with disaster preparedness of the colonies. What is mentioned under the heading "Hygiene and Public Health Condition" is very disturbing. We direct the State Government to immediately place the said report before the Chief Secretary of the State Government to enable him to apply his mind and to respond to the same.
3. The learned counsel appearing for the State Government states that final report of IIT, Mumbai is expected to be received in the second week of January 2019. Referring to the minutes of the meeting held in the office of the Hon'ble Housing Minister on 12 th November 2018, he pointed out that there is no proposal for in-situ redevelopment within the distance of 10 meters from the main water pipeline supplying water to the city of Mumbai. As regards the second point discussed in the meeting, he states that he has not received any instructions whether any report was submitted to the State Government. He pointed out that the officers of the Urban Development Department were not present in the said meeting. We direct the State Government to place on record a copy of the report submitted on Issue No.2 discussed in the said meeting. Our attention is also invited to the minutes of the meeting held on 14 th November 2018 convened by the Hon'ble Mayor of the city. We find from ::: Uploaded on - 19/12/2018 ::: Downloaded on - 27/12/2018 06:42:05 ::: SKN 5/6 140.06-pil--.doc the minutes of the meeting that none of the senior officers of the State Government was present. We have invited attention of the learned counsel appearing for the Municipal Corporation to certain objectionable portions of the minutes at page-5 of the minutes. We hope and trust that the Municipal Corporation shall ensure that the minutes are corrected so that the objectionable portion does not remain part of the minutes.
4. We must note here that clear prima facie findings have been recorded in various orders passed by this court from time to time and, in particular in the orders dated 8th May 2018 and 19th August 2018. We are constrained to observe that there is no serious effort made by the State Government to resolve the issues raised by the citizens rehabilitated in Mahul. There are different meetings held at different levels, for example meeting convened by Hon'ble Housing Minister. In the said meeting, none of the officers of the Urban Development Department and Slum Rehabilitation Authority were present. As stated earlier, now the interim report of the IIT clearly shows that the allegations made in some of the petitions regarding condition of PAP tenements at Mahul and locations of tenements appear to have substance.
5. Place the petitions on 18th January 2019 at 11.00 a.m. under the caption of "direction". We direct the State Government to file an affidavit dealing with the following aspects:
(a) Compliance with the earlier orders;
(b) Decision taken in the meeting convened by the Hon'ble
Housing Minister on 12th November 2019;
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(c) Response of the State to the findings recorded in the
interim report of IIT, Mumbai.
Final report of IIT, Mumbai, if received, shall also be placed on record along with affidavit. Such affidavit shall be filed on or before 16 th January 2019. The petitioner in Writ Petition (LDG.) No.874/2018 will file an affidavit dealing with the affidavit of Shri Prithviraj Chauhan on or before 16th January 2019.
6. Prima facie, it is very difficult to ignore the findings recorded in the interim report of IIT, Mumbai dated 12th December 2018. We hope and trust that when an institution like IIT, Mumbai which of some international repute has given such an opinion, the State Government will respect the said opinion and take remedial steps on the basis of the same. A copy of the interim report dated 12 th December 2018 is taken on record of PIL No.140/2006 and marked as "IIT R-1" for identification.
7. All concerned to act on an authenticated copy of this order.
(SANDEEP K. SHINDE, J.) (A.S.OKA, J.)
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