‘What else is of more priority for Mumbai?’: HC slams govt for ‘prolonged defiance’ of orders on removal of SGNP encroachments

A few hours after the court termed the state’s approach “disheartening’ and warned of contempt action against the officials, the Additional Chief Secretaries (ACS) of state Forest and Housing departments in post-lunch session filed affidavits expressing unconditional apology to the court for not complying with its orders.

The court accepted the top officials’ undertaking of taking effective and immediate steps for compliance.

It expressed “hope and trust” that state machinery would abide by the past orders and “ensure SGNP is restored as far as possible in its original shape and becomes insulated from any kind of future encroachments.”

This came after the Advocate General (AG) Birendra Saraf informed the bench that construction of rehabilitation tenements for eligible slum dwellers to 90-acre land in suburban Marol-Maroshi was “difficult”.

He said that the National Wildlife Board (NWB) had on December 21 decided that no further construction proposals will be entertained in the Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) of SGNP till zonal plans are prepared under Union Environment Ministry’s 2016 notification. Saraf said that the government will identify alternate land for rehabilitation.

The court then pulled up the government as to why it could not be aware of NWB’s decision while making a submission on January 9 that constructions with conditions were permissible in the ESZ area.

“We have been rather screaming that this matter requires preemptive, proactive action. Despite active intervention by the court, your (state) officers are not rising to the occasion. How come you (state) are not able to fence the entire area since the 1997 judgement? As a result, there are not just encroachments but there are bazars (commercial establishments). It is all happening because there is non accountability. This is defiance (of court orders). If the government cannot rise to occasion in such matters, what else is of more priority for the city of Mumbai. This is disheartening,” Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya orally remarked.

On the state’s inaction, the judge added, “This is criminal if I am permitted to say so.”

The HC order expressed “dismay and astonishment” over state authorities’ “callous attitude” in compliance of 1997 judgment and noticed that due to the “negligence” they failed to properly maintain SGNP area.

It emphasised on the importance of SGNP with 97 square kilometres area in the midst of the city as “gift of nature to Mumbai” and said the same provides several benefits including providing drinking water to residents.

The court said it was expected of step to take “all possible steps to preserve SGNP” and said “its lack of efforts cannot be appreciated at all”.
AG Saraf submitted that the 1997 judgment granted benefit of rehabilitation to the encroachers in the SGNP area whose names appeared on electoral rolls on or prior to January 1, 1995 and the same was further extended by the state government to 2011.

The court asked him to address it on the said issue during the next hearing on March 3.

A bench of CJ Upadhyaya and Amit Borkar was hearing a plea filed by Samyak Janhit Seva Sanstha an association of residents from slums at SGNP seeking alternative accommodation, along with a contempt petition by NGO Conservation Action Trust alleging non-compliance of HC orders of 1997 and 2003 that directed authorities to clear the SGNP area and ensure no further encroachments in SGNP area.

Senior advocate Janak Dwarkadas for the NGO submitted that the government was in “brazen contempt” of past court orders and had even failed to fence the entire area and there were certain ready mix concrete (RMC) plants operating within SGNP boundaries.

The court asked the state government to prepare a plan and avail requisite sanctions for fencing the national park. It also directed the government to conduct a survey of all encroachers and those found not covered by cut-off date for rehabilitation be immediately removed