The Bombay High Court on Wednesday granted relief to the residents of Mahul who have been protesting for over a year demanding that they be relocated from the industrial area. Mahul was declared unfit for human habitation by the National Green Tribunal in 2015 and the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay this year.

The court has directed the Maharashtra government to deposit ₹15,000 per month as rent and an additional ₹45,000 as refundable deposit in the bank accounts of the residents and other project affected persons (PAPs).

A Division Bench of Justices A.S. Oka and M.S. Sanklecha in its order also directed the BMC to take the consent of all eligible persons and find out if they would prefer staying in Mahul or vacate their flats and take money from the government.

Depending on the estimated amount, the State government will release funds to the BMC to deposit the rent in the bank accounts of the residents and other PAPs. After receiving the amount, residents will have to vacate their houses within one month and acquire a house on rent elsewhere.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), in compliance with a previous high court order, has been demolishing unauthorised buildings, including residential and commercial structures, displacing around 7,000 families along the Tansa water pipeline that runs across nine administrative wards of the city.

The government had decided to accommodate the displaced persons in Mahul village, but some of them have refused to shift citing high air pollution levels due to oil refineries in nearby areas. Only 225 families have so far shifted to Mahul.

In its order, the Bench said that the government cannot force any person to live in a polluted area. The court said, “Article 21 of the Constitution says every citizen has the right to live in a pollution-free area. Project affected persons have the right to say that they cannot be forced to reside in an area where air pollution is life-threatening.”

‘Attack on right’

The court noted, “As these persons were evicted and if rehabilitation is not done in a correct spirit then it will affect their rights guaranteed under the Indian Constitution.” The judges observed, “As the State government has expressed inability to provide alternative tenements, the only option left is to direct the government to pay the project-affected persons monetary compensation to enable them to find their own accommodation.”

The Bench said, “The government shall pay each family ₹15,000 per month along with ₹45,000 refundable deposit by way of rent for those persons who choose to forfeit their right to a tenement in Mahul.” The families will then have a month to vacate their structures after which the BMC shall resume demolition work, the judges said. “A similar practice shall be initiated with those persons who have already started staying in Mahul. These persons shall be given the option to vacate the flats occupied by them and take the rent amount,” the court said.

The court said the government shall deposit a sum of ₹1.80 lakh (₹15,000 per month for a year) along with the ₹45,000 deposit in the bank accounts of the project-affected persons (PAPs). “After a year, a sum of ₹15,000 shall be deposited in these persons’ bank accounts before the 15th of each month,” the court directed. The Bench asked the corporation to complete the demolition process by November 30.

In its order, the court said the government’s failure to make available accommodation to the PAPs has resulted in thousands of illegal structures still encroaching upon the city’s main water pipelines. “The difficulty has arisen because of delay on part of the State government to rehabilitate the project- affected persons,” it said. The Bench noted that such encroachments affect the entire population of Mumbai which gets their water supply from these pipelines.

Referring to previous court orders, the Bench said, “The encroachments also increase risk and make the pipelines vulnerable to terrorist attacks. The issue involves security of Mumbai which has experienced some of the worst terrorist attacks in the past, the judges noted. “If not for the project-affected persons, but at least for the safety of the 1.80 crore population of Mumbai, the State government should come up with an alternative plan,” the court said.