MbPT acting like pvt landlord: irked tenants

The Mumbai Port Authority (MPA)’s issuance of demand notices for non-payment of past dues and its levying of exorbitant revised rents on several residential and commercial buildings in Colaba has left tenants stunned and worried

The Mumbai Port Authority (MPA)’s issuance of demand notices for non-payment of past dues and its levying of exorbitant revised rents on several residential and commercial buildings in Colaba has left tenants stunned and worried. The notices were issued as per the 2015 amended Policy Guidelines on Land Management by Major Ports (PGLM).

Mumbai, India - October 03, 2022: A view of Jairaz House, at Colaba, in Mumbai, India, on Monday, October 03, 2022. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo) (HT PHOTO)

MPA, formerly known as Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT), owns about 944 hectares of land in Mumbai city -- a total of 2,215 plots of land, of which 300 plots are residential.

Hindustan Times had reported on October 3 how 39 families in Engineer Building in Fort were issued eviction notices by MPA on September 1 due to non-payment of dues. The matter came up for hearing in the Bombay High Court on Monday but the court directed residents to take up the matter in the city civil court.

Aggrieved residents said that MPA was unwilling to take a humanitarian view of the issue and was passing the buck to the central government. It is learnt through MPA’s website that the proposal to hike rents and the schedule of rates was put forth to the Tariff Authority for Major Ports (TAMP) by MPA. This was formulated based on the terms of PGLM issued by the shipping ministry, with the approval of the cabinet, in 2015. TAMP had subsequently approved MPA’s proposal on revised rates in 2021.

This policy is applicable to all the expired leases, 15 monthly leases, monthly tenancies, and licenses along with vacant plots falling under the respective ready reckoner zones.

Advocate Prerak Choudhary, who has already filed 30 petitions in court on this issue, said there was a judgment passed by the Supreme Court in the case of Jamshed Hormusjee Wadia versus the Board of Trustees of Port of Bombay in 2012. “After 2012, the rates were to be revised. However, the revisions should have been reasonable and not done so arbitrarily,” he said.

Advocate Choudhary further added that in the Dwarkadas Marfatia Vs Board of Trustees of Port of Bombay case, there was a 1985 SC judgment which states that the MPA, being a public authority, was bound to conduct itself reasonably. “It cannot behave like a private landlord and indulge in extortionist rack renting and profiteering. It is supposed to behave fairly,” he said.

The MPA’s counter-argument is that it is not covered under the Maharashtra Rent Control Act of 1999, which stipulates that rents can be increased by four percent every year. “The MPA said it is not bound by the Rent Control Act but that does not mean that it can charge unjustly and be draconian,” said Advocate Choudhary.

Bhaskar Mendon, a resident of Jairaz House, which comprises two buildings with eleven families, has received the MPA’s demand notice. “The MPA is asking for arrears from 2012 to 2017 and from 2017 to 2022. For our building, the arrears from 2017 retrospectively come to ₹32 crore. We were paying a monthly rent of ₹25,000 but they are proposing to increase it to above ₹25 lakh per month,” said Mendon.

Mendon said that demand notices had been served on many buildings after expiration of leases in Colaba, and the shadow of eviction looms large. “We are all senior citizens, and we will be on the streets if MPA has its way. Paying this kind of rent is out of the question. There is a Supreme Court judgment which clearly states that they can increase the rent by four percent every year. But MPA has arbitrarily charged this rent saying that it is following due process of law,” he said.

Mendon rued the fact that despite a plethora of writ petitions in court, MPA was still issuing notices. “This is absurd. They didn’t allow tenants to give suggestions and objections but on their own got this proposal passed by the Tariff Authority and put it in the gazette and made it a law. The onus to give us redressal is in the hands of MPA,” he said.

Rajiv Jalota, chairman, MPA, when contacted, told HT that demand notices would be issued to all 2,215 plots. When asked what MPA plans to do with the land if it succeeds in evicting residents, Jalota said, “There is a master plan prepared by MPA which is awaiting the state government’s approval. The master plan is in the public domain. Various kinds of development are envisaged to promote tourism and industrial warehouses. We are planning a hi-tech city.”

When asked why a humanitarian view was not taken on the issue and residents were not spared the exorbitant rents by MPA, Jalota explained, “It is not in our hands. MPA is not part of TAMP. Residents gave their hundreds of objections to TAMP after notices were issued, and we gave our proposal to revise rates based on policy guidelines.”