HC says BMC obliged to repair roads in city, sets July 8 deadline

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court (HC) has ordered the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to repair all roads in the city by July 8, reiterating that the civic

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court (HC) has ordered the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to repair all roads in the city by July 8, reiterating that the civic authorities are “under an obligation to do so”.

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The HC will take stock of the BMC’s compliance on July 8.

The directions came when a division bench comprising justices Shantanu Kemkar and MS Karnik was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) on the poor state of roads in Mumbai and Thane.

The BMC told the court it had completed 80% of the routine road repair work carried out before the monsoon each year and would complete the rest soon. The civic body said it was having trouble finalising a contractor to attend to citizens’ complaints on potholes.

The bench said all agencies – the BMC, the state government, MMRDA, MSRDC, and Mumbai Port Trust — must coordinate and work together to redress the “ever-recurring problem of potholes and waterlogging every year during the monsoon”. The BMC, however, claims the map only reflects the plots and survey numbers in the revenue department’s land records. “It does not mean the plots can be developed,” said a civic official.

The state government had allocated the plots to different societies between 1992 and 1995, which the local residents, under the banner of ‘Save Andheri Versova Environment (SAVE) forum, challenged in the Bombay high court (HC). The HC struck down the allotment in 2006.

Rajesh Vora, a member of the forum, said the DP shows the lack of coordination between the departments.

“After the HC order, the forest department declared the plot as protected forest. It was the job of the revenue department to ensure the allotments were cancelled. It is surprising that it hasn’t been done despite the HC’s order,” said Vora. “The BMC should have questioned the revenue department for showing these plots,” said another resident.

According to the ministry of environment and forest, land occupied by mangroves falls under coastal regulation zone-I, where construction is not allowed. The civic body had sponsored the construction of a fence around these mangroves to protect them.