Mumbai: Observing that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has prima facie taken an "unjust" decision, the Bombay High Court on Friday ordered it to spell out the exact number of redeveloped buildings it has requisitioned for quarantine facilities. The High Court has ordered the civic body to maintain "status quo" on the issue, i.e. not to use any of these requisitioned buildings as quarantine facilities, for the time being. A bench of Justices Shahrukh Kathawalla and Surendra Tavade passed the significant order while dealing with a clutch of petitions challenging the May 31 circular of the BMC, by which the civic body had started taking over possession of several redeveloped buildings in the city, to be used as quarantine facilities in the war against COVID-19.
While taking note of the plight of slum dwellers or tenants whose original premises have been taken over builders for redevelopment, the bench said, "The developers have taken several years (in some cases more than a decade), to complete the work of redevelopment and have also stopped paying compensation in lieu of temporary alternate accommodation." "Consequently, since most of the families faced financial constraints, it became impossible for them to pay the monthly compensation to the landlords / licensors, because of which they virtually landed on the streets," the judges noted in their order.
The bench further took into account the fact that several such tenants or families approach either the High Court or the BMC seeking immediate completion of the redevelopment and restoration of the roof over their heads, which they have lost since the last several years. "Despite these pathetic circumstances of hundreds of such families, who are longing to secure their legitimate roof over their heads, BMC under the garb of its circular has started requisitioning the said buildings for providing quarantine / isolation facility. Consequently, the original tenants are deprived of their very own residence," Justice Kathawalla noted.
"This action on the part of the BMC, prima facie appears to be absolutely unjust and unfair and done with scant regard or consideration to the plight of those people who have no roof to call their own," Justice Kathawalla held. The judges ordered senior counsel Anil Sakhre for the BMC to file a detailed affidavit spelling out particulars of the houses or buildings in Mumbai where the civic body has started or has made arrangements to start quarantine or isolation facilities, the bed capacity of these places and the number of individuals presently housed therein.
