Can't blame Mumbai civic body, citizens responsible too: Court on waterlogging

As the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) faces mounting criticism over widespread waterlogging caused by heavy monsoon rains, the Bombay High Court on Tuesday said citizens were equally responsible for Mumbai's flooding, remarking that people had "robbed their own motherland" through rampant encroachments and by clogging drainage systems.

Hearing a plea related to a road-widening project in Mumbai, a division bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad said the city's recurring waterlogging was "our own creation" and urged citizens to stop blaming the civic body alone.

"Citizens should stop blaming the corporation alone for chronic monsoons and the waterlogging that follows. This is our own creation," the bench observed, adding that despite the BMC providing drainage lines, footpaths and public infrastructure, people had encroached upon them, dumped waste into gutters and converted footpaths into parking spaces and hawking zones.

"Our habit is to rob our own motherland. We grab lands, block the gutters and then put up our shops illegally. You can't walk. What will the corporation do?" the court observed, according to a Live Law report, pointing out that even the footpaths outside the High Court building in south Mumbai's Fort area have been encroached upon by photocopy shops, tea stalls and other vendors, leaving little room for pedestrians.

The judges further said Mumbai was "destined to witness rainwater on the roads" because of widespread encroachments on public land and blocked drainage systems. They also criticised what they described as a recurring pattern in which people illegally occupy land but invoke legal protections when demolition drives are initiated.

"When the corporation comes for demolition, you want seven days' notice. Suddenly the law books are opened. But when you grab the land, nobody reads the law," the bench remarked.

The observations came during the hearing of a petition concerning the widening of the Sion-Trombay Road near Mandala village in Mankhurd. Appearing for the BMC, senior advocate Milind Sathe said the civic body had already cleared encroachments and widened the existing road to 30 feet after felling nearly 192 trees.

However, he submitted that widening the road further to 50 feet requires land belonging to the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), which oversees the nearby Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). Sathe said the BMC was prepared to complete the project if the DAE made the encroachment-free land available.

The High Court issued notice to the DAE, seeking its response on whether it intended to facilitate the road widening and adjourned the matter for further hearing.

- Ends