Senapati Bapat Marg encroachment: HC gives BMC 30-day deadline to clear road

Mumbai: The Bombay high court (HC) recently passed an order asking the G North ward of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to remove illegal encroachment from the Senapati Bapat Marg in a month or face action.

The stretch in Mahim area is encroached, causing traffic snarls and issues for pedestrians. And this was highlighted by four citizens, who filed a writ petition in the high court against the menace.

The petitioners- Urich Kamath, Shrikant Shenoy, Meenal Vagal and Saifuddin Shehabi are the four residents of Mahim who informed the court that despite multiple requests and meetings with the BMC, the ward has not taken any permanent steps to remove the encroachments.

For example, the stretch has a car accessories shop with mechanics, who operate their garage by keeping the equipment inside a car parked on the road. These mechanics use the roads to repair the vehicles, which adds to traffic jams and the oil leakage from the repairs has made the road slippery.

Some vagrants are also occupying the footpath, harassing pedestrians. Owing to the frustration of no solution to their request by the BMC, the four residents were left with no choice but to approach the HC.

HC in its order dated November 14 said that it has made clear that if the encroachments and illegal garages from the footpaths on Senapati Bapat Marg and Mahim are not removed within the period prescribed in the clause, the concerned officer of the civic body would be personally responsible for any such inaction.

Urich Kamath, who is a member of Mumbai North Central District Forum (MNCDF), a citizen welfare forum in the city shared, “Besides using Twitter regularly, to complain about the issue, we have met ward officials several times since 2021, we even met with the DCP to get a permanent solution but nothing happened. With this order from the HC, we are hopeful that there will be some solution.” said Urich.

An official from the G North ward of the BMC said, “We are taking action every single day and there are no permanent structures on the footpath. These are vagrants who live and eat there. When we remove them once, they come back again at the night or after we leave. We even tried to rehabilitate them under the policy for homeless people through the planning department, however, they all refused to go. We are meeting police officials on Monday and requesting them to have one van deployed in the area. The illegal garage will also be removed soon.”

Meenal Vagal, a resident of the area and the petitioner in the case said, “The footpath and bus stops have been made inaccessible because of the encroachments. It has also become a safety issue to walk out at night, and temporary actions have not helped. We hope that BMC comes up with a permanent solution to this.”

Shrikant Shenoy, another petitioner in the case said that he was once attacked by one of the encroachers when he asked them to move. “One person threw a stone in my window when I asked them to not create a ruckus on the road. We wanted a permanent solution not a temporary one and that is why we had to approach the court. BMC has done many rounds in the past but encroachers return in minutes. This order is a welcome one as it directs BMC to find a permanent solution.”

It is the duty of the municipal corporation to get the public street clear from encroachers. The said street shall be made available to members of the public for smooth vehicular traffic and free from encroachment, read the order passed by Justice RD Dhanuka and Justice Kamal Khata on November 14.