Explorer

Election Results 2024

(Source: ECI/ABP News/ABP Majha)

Labelling Persons As Encroachers, Deploying Bulldozers Not A Solution: Bombay HC

The bench sought information from the Western Railway, MMRDA, and BMC if they have in place any rehabilitation policy or system, and what are the eligibility criteria.

Merely labelling persons as encroachers and displacing them is not a solution and the issue has to be addressed in a "more considered fashion" than by just deploying bulldozers, the Bombay High Court has said while seeking to know from the Western Railway, Mumbai civic body and MMRDA if they have any rehabilitation policy in place. A division bench of Justice Gautam Patel and Neela Gokhale on February 8 heard a petition filed by Mumbai-based Ekta Welfare Society, challenging the eviction and demolition notices issued to its residents by railway authorities as they were encroaching on its property.

The bench sought information from the Western Railway, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) if they have in place any rehabilitation policy or system, and what are the eligibility criteria.

“Throughout, we bear in mind that merely labelling these persons as 'encroachers' is not going to answer the problem. This is a serious problem in the city and it is a problem of human displacement. Sometimes, the scale of the displacement is beyond the imagination. It has to be addressed in a more considered fashion than by merely deploying bulldozers on the site,” the court said. As per the Western Railway, 101 unauthorised structures have already been demolished till February 7.

The court in its order said the Western Railway and other authorities had not followed directions given by the Supreme Court in December 2021 while such demolition drives are held.

As per the SC order, before commencing the process of eviction and removal of structures, the authorities concerned should record the identity of the occupants of the structure for consideration of rehabilitation.

The apex court had said if the local government has any rehabilitation scheme, then the affected persons should be permitted to apply for the same if eligible.

The high court said the demolition report submitted by the Western Railway does not indicate whether any survey was done of the 101 structures before demolition, which was against the SC order.

ALSO READ: Woman Entitled To Maintenance Even After Divorce Under Domestic Violence Act: Bombay HC

The bench said no further demolition is to be carried out in contravention of the SC order anywhere on Western Railway lands in Mumbai, and posted the matter for further hearing on March 1.

It said the notices issued to the occupants of the petitioner society's structures do not point out any rehabilitation scheme or any requirements of eligibility or how these are to be met or within what time.

"These are not even notices under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act. They are simply eviction notices,” the HC said.

It was also unclear if the Western Railway took up the matter of rehabilitation with the MMRDA or the BMC, it said.

It, however, added that at this stage the court was not indicating that the MMRDA or the BMC was necessarily bound to rehabilitate those ousted in the Western Railway's encroachment removal drives.

As per the demolition report, the debris generated from the demolition drive was thrown outside the railway land at a low lying area.

The court took exception to this and said it does not emphatically approve of this approach.

“The disposal of the debris raises more questions than it answers because by throwing the material into a low-lying area, apparently the presumption is that it will get washed into the Arabian Sea,” the HC said.

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)

View More
Advertisement

IPL Auction 2025

Most Expensive Players In The Squad
Virat Kohli
₹21 CR
Rajat Patidar
₹11 CR
Liam Livingstone
₹8.75 CR
View all
Most Expensive Players In The Squad
Rishabh Pant
₹27 CR
Nicholas Pooran
₹21 CR
Ravi Bishnoi
₹11 CR
View all
Most Expensive Players In The Squad
Jasprit Bumrah
₹18 CR
Suryakumar Yadav
₹16.35 CR
Hardik Pandya
₹16.35 CR
View all
Most Expensive Players In The Squad
Heinrich Klaasen
₹23 CR
Pat Cummins
₹18 CR
Abhishek Sharma
₹14 CR
View all
Most Expensive Players In The Squad
Ruturaj Gaikwad
₹18 CR
Ravindra Jadeja
₹18 CR
Matheesha Pathirana
₹13 CR
View all
Most Expensive Players In The Squad
Shreyas Iyer
₹26.75 CR
Arshdeep Singh
₹18 CR
Yuzvendra Chahal
₹18 CR
View all
Most Expensive Players In The Squad
Sanju Samson
₹18 CR
Yashaswi Jaiswal
₹18 CR
Riyan Parag
₹14 CR
View all
Most Expensive Players In The Squad
Venkatesh Iyer
₹23.75 CR
Rinku Singh
₹13 CR
Varun Chakaravarthy
₹12 CR
View all
Most Expensive Players In The Squad
Rashid Khan
₹18 CR
Shubman Gill
₹16.5 CR
Jos Buttler
₹15.75 CR
View all
Most Expensive Players In The Squad
Axar Patel
₹16.5 CR
KL Rahul
₹14 CR
Kuldeep Yadav
₹13.25 CR
View all
Advertisement
25°C
New Delhi
Rain: 100mm
Humidity: 97%
Wind: WNW 47km/h
See Today's Weather
powered by
Accu Weather
Advertisement

Top Headlines

Sambhal Violence: 3 Dead In Clashes Over Mosque Survey, Akhilesh Yadav Accuses BJP Of 'Orchestrating' Violence
Sambhal Violence: 3 Dead In Clashes Over Mosque Survey, Akhilesh Yadav Accuses BJP Of 'Orchestrating' Violence
Hemant Soren Stakes Claim To Form Next Jharkhand Government, Confirms Oath Ceremony Date
Hemant Soren Stakes Claim To Form Next Jharkhand Government, Confirms Oath Ceremony Date
IPL 2025 Mega Auction Live Updates: Pant, Iyer Headline The Event, SOLD For Rs. 27 Cr And Rs. 26.75 Cr Respectively
IPL 2025 Mega Auction Live Updates: Pant, Iyer Headline The Event, SOLD For Rs. 27 Cr And Rs. 26.75 Cr Respectively
Maharashtra Government Formation To Be Completed By This Date As BJP, Shiv Sena, NCP Eye CM Post
Maharashtra Government Formation To Be Completed By This Date As BJP, Shiv Sena, NCP Eye CM Post
Advertisement
ABP Premium

Videos

From Hating Computers to Building a Software Empire, The Inspiring Journey of ESDS CEO Piyush SomaniGautam Adani Faces Another Blow as SEBI Launches Probe Against Adani Group | Paisa LiveBigg Boss 18: Did Salman Khan Bully Arfeen Khan? Hrithik Roshan's Mind Coach Breaks Silence!Tamannaah Bhatia Has Vijay Varma as Bonus? Jimmy Shergill's Army Exam & Avinash Good Looks! EXCLUSIVE Interview

Photo Gallery

Embed widget