Contempt petition moved in Bombay HC against BMC for not laying sewage lines

A contempt petition has been moved by an NGO in the Bombay high court (HC) against the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for failing to comply with a July

A contempt petition has been moved by an NGO in the Bombay high court (HC) against the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for failing to comply with a July 2019 order, directing the civic authority to submit quarterly reports to the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) regarding extension work of existing sewerage lines.

Untreated sewage flows into Waldhuni river water. (HT PHOTO)

The order was passed in the hearing of a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Citizen Circle for Social Welfare and Education, highlighting the fact that the sewage treatment plants were not functioning to their full capacity due to paucity of sewage lines, as a result of which untreated effluents were being released into the sea. The petition is expected to come up for hearing in due course.

The contempt petition filed by the NGO through advocate Shehzad Naqvi states that in July 2019, it had filed a PIL which alleged that the BMC was not treating the sewage generated in the city, and the plants were not being utilised to their optimum capacity. The PIL had also pointed out that untreated sewage was being released into the sea as well as the Mithi river, thus causing damage to the marine ecology.

After hearing the PIL, the HC had concluded that effluents were not being brought into the treatment plants, and hence directed BMC to ensure that proper sewage lines were laid to ensure that the sewage was directed to the plants. HC had also directed the BMC to furnish quarterly reports to the MPCB on the status of laying sewage lines that would take sewage to the treatment plants.

According to the contempt petition, the NGO filed a right to information (RTI) application with MPCB seeking copies of the quarterly reports maintained by it from July 2019. The petition states that to their utter shock, surprise and dismay, the MPCB through its December 3, 2020 reply informed that no information was available on the same.

In light of this, the contempt petition states that the BMC has deliberately and intentionally disobeyed the HC order and the same amounts to contempt of the court. While seeking compliance of the previous order, the petition also seeks directions to form policy to stop releasing sewage into the Mithi river, by laying a drainage system in the vicinity and imposing a penalty on the dwellers and industrial units in case they are found discharging the same in the river. The NGO sought from HC to appoint a panel of experts to assist the court while deciding the issues raised in the petition. The petition is expected to come up for hearing in due course.