HC lashes out on BMC and MHADA over illegal construction in Ghatkopar

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Thursday pulled up the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) for their inaction against the illegal construction of a community hall on a Ghatkopar plot reserved for a playground. The court ordered the structure’s demolition and action against the erring civic officials.

In 1994, the Akhil Bhatwadi Sarvajanik Utsav Mandal, a public trust, illegally constructed a community hall on the plot and rented it out for small gatherings like an engagement, naming ceremony, etc. In December 2023, the trust demolished the hall and began a new construction. Hoardings were put up on the plot claiming that the construction of the Samaj Mandir, the new community hall, would be supervised by MHADA and received financial aid from a Member of Parliament.

The petition, filed by the residents of Ghatkopar on March 30, 2024, against MHADA and BMC, alleged that the authorities arbitrarily permitted the construction of a purported community hall on a large chunk of land in Ghatkopar (West) that was reserved for a playground. The authorities thus deprived the residents of an open space in a crowded area like Ghatkopar, the petition said. Additionally, the illegal construction caused sewerage lines to be blocked by debris, and wastewater to ooze out on the road, causing hardships to residents.

In March 2024, the petitioners wrote to MHADA requesting it not to disburse public funds to the trust. However, an RTI response revealed that MHADA had already disbursed ₹41 lakh for constructing the Samaj Mandir.

Advocate Akshay Patil, representing the petitioners, submitted that the construction was permitted based on false information and declarations. He contended that MHADA had acted illegally and clandestinely to create interest in favour of the Trust.

Advocate PG Lad, representing MHADA, submitted that the construction was approved based on the then MP’s recommendation. He added that even the Mumbai Slum Improvement Board (MSIB), appointed to work on improving slums as per the object of MHADA, had clarified to the BMC that they had no objection for the trust taking over the land reserved for playground.

Lastly, advocate Chaitanya Chavan, representing BMC, submitted that the civic body, on February 27, raised a complaint to the Executive Engineer of MHADA slum board to act against the illegal construction, directed the trust to remove the encroachments and hand over the land to it. “BMC had taken all necessary action in accordance with law”, he said.

Highlighting BMC’s deliberate and wilful inaction in permitting illegal constructions, the division bench of justices A S Gadkari and Kamal Khata, raised concerns over BMC and MHADA’s functioning. It said, “BMC simply stops after issuing notices and takes no preventive action to stop illegal construction. In this case, it also involves MHADA”.

The court held BMC and MHADA responsible for the illegal and unauthorised construction. “The MHADA is a planning authority, and it cannot shrug off its responsibility,” it said. It highlighted that MHADA had even failed to check whether the construction was being carried out on BMC land or private land.

The court further added that the provisions to permit construction of the BMC Act are not complied with in most cases and by BMC’s sheer inaction, illegal constructions take place in the state, particularly in Mumbai. “These illegal constructions completely jeopardize the planned development of the city and drain the existing resources”, the bench said.

The court directed the CEO of MHADA to initiate an inquiry into the matter and take appropriate action against everyone responsible for granting the work order of the illegal construction and sanctioning approval of public funds for it. It also directed the BMC to demolish the illegal construction.