Worli building’s water, power some days off

The 36 families residing in Har Siddhi building at Worli will have to live without water and electricity for a few more days because the Bombay High Court on Friday adjourned the hearing on their petition.

The 36 families residing in Har Siddhi building at Worli will have to live without water and electricity for a few more days because the Bombay High Court on Friday adjourned the hearing on their petition.

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The high court directed the Indian Navy, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Slum Rehabilitation Authority and Rashmit Shah, who constructed the 18-storey building, to file their replies.

The court posted the matter for further hearing on May 26.

Electricity and water supply to the building, forming commercial component of a SRA project, was disconnected on May 3 after the state government declared that it posed serious threat to an adjacent naval base, INS Trata.

Resident Renuka Shah had moved the high court challenging the BEST’s unilateral action to disconnect power supply. Her lawyer had contended that the supplier could disconnect power supply to any customer only on the ground of non-payment of bill.

But the court had refused to direct BEST to restore power supply to the building without hearing the Navy and the BMC.

The court had noted that the building was completed despite a stop-work notice issued by the government in 2008, and that the families had started living there without obtaining an Occupation Certificate from the BMC. On September 26, 2008, the state issued a stop-work notice after strong exception by Western Naval Command to the construction.