HC orders removal of slums in Mahape MIDC within four months

NMMC and MIDC are directed to take appropriate action for the removal of encroachment within an outer limit of four months from today

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday directed the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) to demolish slums, which are illegal encroachments, in Mahape MIDC within four months, which are under threat due to noxious emissions from the industrial area.

HC orders removal of slums in Mahape MIDC within four months

A division bench comprising chief justice Alok Aradhe and justice Sandeep Marne was hearing a petition by Mangesh Mhatre, claiming that there were illegal residential constructions in the hazardous industrial zone and sought directions to NMMC for demolishing the same. Mhatre alleged that the 168 huts in Shramik Vasti Zopadpatti (slums), near Thane Trans Creek area, are occupied by the people rehabilitated under the Valmiki Niwas Slum Scheme.

The “Valmiki Niwas” scheme is part of the larger Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana (VAMBAY), launched in 2001 by the Indian government to improve living conditions for urban poor and slum dwellers.

Mhatre had first raised concerns about the encroachment in December 2022, however, there was no response or action from the authorities, he claimed. He also claimed that he had been continuously writing to the Mahape MIDC’s deputy engineer regarding the illegal structures and urged him to send eviction notices to the encroachers. The complaints fell on deaf ears, he stated in his plea.

“We have time and again written to the authorities, but no action was taken. The encroachers are living in the hazardous area of the MIDC. This raises a lot of questions about safety and accountability,” Vinayak Gadekar, advocate for Mangesh Mhatre, told the court.

The court had earlier constituted a committee led by officials from the MIDC and the NMMC to analyse the issue and chalk out a strategy for clearing the encroachments. The court noted that after deliberation, the committee had issued notices to the encroachers, but no action materialised after that, the petition claimed.

“NMMC and MIDC are directed to take appropriate action for the removal of encroachment within an outer limit of four months from today. Needless to state that any person who may be aggrieved by the action of the aforesaid authorities for removing encroachment shall be at liberty to take recourse to such remedy as may be available to them in law,” the court said while disposing of the matter.