Rehab plots in Dindoshi & Marol too encroached

MUMBAI: Around 5,000 families who were allotted flats in buildings in Mahul can now return them. If a family avails of the option, the state will pay it Rs 1.8 lakh as advance rent for a year plus the specified refundable deposit. Thereafter, the state will continue to pay Rs 15,000 per month as rental compensation till the time air quality in Mahul is found to be livable, the court's order details. If a family chooses compensation but doesn't vacate its Mahul flat, it will be evicted.

A division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice M S Sanklecha reiterated the importance of saving and protecting "the water trunk mains from terrorists and other attacks and in turn protect the lives of citizens residing in Mumbai". The bench said that at the same time, PAPs had the fundamental right to enjoy a pollution-free environment and decline to stay in an area where pollution was life-threatening.

The judges said the state government has also failed to protect from encroachment two plots in Dindoshi and Marol that were earlier earmarked for the rehabilitation of PAPs. Of the 160km of the Tansa supply line running through Mumbai, around 90km is above ground. In an affidavit, the BMC had admitted to over 16,000 illegal structures on it. The new court-set deadline for removing the structures and creating a 10-metre buffer zone on both flanks of the pipeline is November 30.