The Bombay High Court has observed that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) cannot be held solely responsible for Mumbai’s recurring monsoon flooding, stating that encroachments, blocked drainage systems and misuse of public spaces have significantly contributed to the city’s waterlogging problems.
The remarks were made on Tuesday by Acting Chief Justice R.V. Ghuge while hearing a public interest litigation related to the proposed widening of a road near the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). The hearing took place as Mumbai continued recovering from two days of heavy rainfall that severely disrupted normal life.
During the proceedings, the Acting Chief Justice said, “We are destined to see rainwater on roads. We cannot help it. We have an uncanny knack for grabbing land. We block the gutters. One small spell of rain blocks the roads. It is our own creation.”
He also criticised the misuse of civic infrastructure, observing, “The Corporation gave us footpaths; we started having pav bhaji stalls on them. Our habit is to rob our own motherland.”
Representing the BMC, Senior Advocate Milind Sathe informed the court that the civic body had cleared encroachments along the existing 30-foot-wide road and removed nearly 192 trees as part of the proposed expansion project. However, he said the additional land required to widen the road to 50 feet belongs to the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), which manages the adjoining Bhabha Atomic Research Centre.
According to Sathe, the road-widening project cannot proceed unless the DAE hands over the required encroachment-free land. “It seems the BARC does not want the road to be widened,” he argued before the court.
The bench noted that the decision now rests with the Department of Atomic Energy. Sathe further submitted that if the DAE and its Directorate of Construction, Services and Estate Management agree to transfer the land, the proposal to widen the road from 30 feet to 50 feet could move forward.
Source: Outlook
