Why does Mumbai flood every year? Bombay High Court gave a shocking reason. BMC and DAE are also under the scanner after strict comments on illegal encroachment, blocked drains and footpath encroachments.
Mumbai Civic Infrastructure: Every year, with the arrival of monsoon, the pace of Mumbai stops. Local trains stop, roads turn into oceans and the entire city becomes flooded. But this time, the Bombay High Court has put the citizens of Mumbai themselves in the dock, not any government organization or BMC, for this plight of Mumbai. In a very strong and shocking statement, the court said that the frequent water-logging in Mumbai during monsoon is not a natural disaster but ‘a problem of our own making’. This comment has sparked a new debate in the entire Mayanagari.
That ‘Hunter’ of the Court: When the Acting Chief Justice himself saw the truth outside his window!
The division bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra V. Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad, hearing the case, expressed strong displeasure over the attitude of the citizens. The court said that accumulation of water on the city roads is inevitable because people themselves completely block the drains with their waste. Coming down hard, Acting Chief Justice Ghuge said, “We have become in the habit of looting our own motherland. Illegal shops are also set up on the footpath just outside the High Court building. We first occupy the land illegally, and then when the administration’s bulldozer or demolition notice comes, we run to the court and start searching for the law books.”
That ‘secret’ project of a 50-foot wide road… which has been buried in the files for years!
Another very important civic case was being heard in the High Court to solve the traffic and drainage problems of Mumbai. This case was related to the road widening project in Mandla village located on the Sion-Trombay stretch. During this time, a revelation came which surprised everyone. Senior advocate Milind Sathe, appearing for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), told the court that the civic body has worked hard to maintain the existing 30-foot road for this much-needed project. For this, he has already removed many big encroachments and has also cut 192 trees coming in the way, so that Mumbai can get freedom from this jam.
That ‘hesitancy’ of the country’s largest nuclear center BARC…why is the work stuck?
But the suspense in the story increased when BMC made a big revelation in front of the court. BMC indicated that it is fully prepared to widen this narrow road by 50-feet, but for this it needs the cooperation of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). In fact, this land comes under the supervision of the nearby ultra-sensitive Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC). BMC said that if the DAE hands over the remaining 20-foot encroachment-free land to them, work can begin immediately, but BARC continues to be hesitant in moving forward in this area of national security and sensitivity.
‘Final Countdown’ will take place at the end of this month, will Mumbai’s fate change?
In view of this serious hesitation, the High Court has taken the matter into its own hands. The court said that there is a strong need for the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to take a firm and concrete decision in this very sensitive matter of land transfer, because it is an issue related to the lives of lakhs of citizens of Mumbai. The court has issued a formal notice to the Department of Atomic Energy to end this entire impasse. Now the next hearing of this high-profile civic case has been fixed for the end of this month, on which the eyes of entire Mumbai are fixed.