HC pulls up BMC for failing to provide additional toilets to Santacruz slum

A part seat of Justices Mahesh S Sonak and Kamal R Khata noted that it was ‘an highly unfortunate’ case, wherever petitioners, who reside successful the said slum country ‘are forced to approach’ the HC, seeking absorption to BMC to supply reasonably capable toilet blocks for men and women, owed to the acute inadequacy of toilets servicing the said area.

Advocate Chandani Chawla for petitioners said the slum consists of 400 families wrong astir 1600 radical and presently had lone 10 toilet blocks including six for men and 4 for women, and the aforesaid was ‘woefully insufficient.”

Last year, the BMC had informed the HC that further toilets could not beryllium constructed arsenic the onshore belonged to Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA), and the authority’s No Objection Certificate (NOC) was required.

However, connected Friday, MHADA, done an affidavit, told the seat that it had already issued NOC successful June, past year.

The seat said the BMC had ‘misled’ it and “had nary remorse for making mendacious and misleading statements earlier the court.” Instead it cited a ‘host of different problems’ including deficiency of entree to MHADA spot adjacent toilet blocks. The MHADA submitted that it had nary issues providing access.

The seat referred to a past judgement of the Supreme Court that held the close to beingness nether Article 21 of constitution “cannot beryllium restricted to specified carnal beingness oregon conscionable carnal survival”.

“Considering the expansive scope of Article 21 of the Constitution, it would beryllium excessively precocious adjacent to suggest that providing minimal sanitation and toilet facilities for slum dwellers is not a law work of municipal authorities similar the BMC.

Therefore, we are rather amazed that the cognition of the BMC successful first, misleading this Court by apportioning the blasted connected MHADA, and second, placing innumerable hurdles to debar compliance with its law obligations.”

It added, “The full approach, we accidental so, with regrets, is astir uncooperative and insensitive.”

The seat besides observed that “BMC being considered richest municipal corp successful the state did not person an enactment to plead deficiency of finance.”

The BMC authoritative told the seat that the civic assemblage would instal impermanent toilets wrong 45 days and constructing imperishable further blocks would instrumentality much than six months.

Terming this arsenic ‘non cooperative attitude,’ the HC placed idiosyncratic work connected the BMC Commissioner to guarantee operation of impermanent toilets.

It added that indispensable survey of operation of a caller crushed positive 1 toilet artifact with capable toilets for men and women beryllium expeditiously completed wrong 3 months.

The seat said it apprehended BMC’s cognition of creating respective hurdles successful complying with tribunal orders successful future.

Posting further proceeding connected November 14, seeking a advancement report, it clarified that “usual reasons similar calling for tenders, codification of conduct, sanctions from the higher-ups, etc, should not travel successful the mode of completing the operation wrong 3 months”.