The Bombay High Court has ordered the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to provide and maintain sufficient toilet facilities across slum areas in Mumbai, including settlements located on encroached municipal or government land, stressing that sanitation is a fundamental human right.
Observing that access to basic hygiene falls under Article 21 of the Constitution, the court said, “In our opinion, making adequate provisions for toilets/sanitation facilities concerns the basic human rights under Article 21 of the Constitution.” The bench added that the civic body, especially where the land belongs to the BMC, is duty-bound to ensure proper sanitation “so that the hygiene and health of the slum dwellers is looked after.”
The court clarified that this responsibility applies uniformly to all slums in the city, regardless of land ownership status.
The directions were issued on February 3 while hearing a writ petition filed by Chetan Samajik Pratishthan, which drew attention to severe sanitation deficiencies in the Govandi slum cluster in Mumbai’s eastern suburbs. According to the petition, the area spans nearly 1.83 lakh square metres and is home to around 4,270 residents living in more than 800 huts.
Advocate Pradeep Thorat, appearing for the petitioner, told the court that slums in Buddha Nagar, Bhaiyasaheb Nagar, and New Lumbini Baug together had only 60 toilet blocks, many of which were in a dilapidated condition. The bench described the “meagre 60 toilets” as “insufficient” for such a large population and underlined that civic officials cannot overlook the basic rights of citizens living in unhygienic environments.
The High Court directed the BMC to repair and properly maintain existing toilet facilities and to identify available open spaces for constructing additional toilets within two months. It further instructed that the Assistant Municipal Commissioner must personally monitor upkeep, noting that “this would be the basic municipal duty of the municipal corporation.”
The bench also emphasised the need for municipal officers to address access to clean drinking water and medical assistance to prevent the spread of disease in slum areas.
Source: News18
