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‘Take beat marshals’ help to keep road encroachment-free’: Bombay HC
The bench directed the commissioner of police, Mumbai, to instruct all beat marshals attached to DN Nagar police station to keep an eye on the pavements in the area and seek immediate police assistance if they notice any encroachers.
The Bombay high court (HC) on Friday roped in police beat marshals to ensure that pavements on Jai Bhavani Mata Road in Andheri (West), extending from Ramesh Nagar to Andheri station, remain free of encroachments.
The bench directed the commissioner of police, Mumbai, to instruct all beat marshals attached to DN Nagar police station to keep an eye on the pavements in the area and seek immediate police assistance if they notice any encroachers.
It also directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to ensure that temporary structures erected by encroachers be demolished immediately.
The division bench of chief justice Pradeep Nandrajog and justice Nitin Jamdar was acting on a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by a local resident, SGP Barnes.
The petitioners had pointed out that temporary structures had returned to the pavement a few days they were removed by the civic body.
The civic body claimed structures in the area were removed regularly, but encroachers returned to the pavement after some time.
The bench said, “It appears to be a case of cat and mouse between encroachers and the municipal authorities. As and when encroachers from the footpath are removed, the encroachers return after a few days.”
“The only solution to the problem is to make SHO (station house officer) of the police station concerned, within [whose] jurisdiction the road is situated, ensure that once the footpaths are cleared of the temporary structures by demolishing the same, no temporary structure is re-erected,” the bench said.
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