The Bombay High Court on Monday asked the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to inform the percentage of land covered by slums in Mumbai.
A bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Firdosh Pooniwalla called for the latest statistics after they were informed that the last available statistics of the area covered by slums was of 2019.
A bench headed by Justice Girish Kulkarni was set up on August 12, pursuant to Supreme Court direction on July 30, to conduct a ‘performance audit’ of the Maharashtra Slum Areas (Improvement, Clearance and Redevelopment) Act, 1971 and identify the problems faced in its effective implementation. While asking the HC chief justice to constitute a special bench, the apex court had raised concerns about the working of the slum act.
On Monday, the bench sought to know the area in the city which was covered by slums. To this, senior counsel Milind Sathe, appearing for the BMC, informed that the authorities had undertaken the task of measuring the area under slums in 2019 while the HC had then sought the information while hearing a PIL by NGO Citispace.
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However, the bench said it required updated information and not the data of 2019. “We want to know from BMC and SRA, as regards Mumbai, the geographical limits and actual area, how much percentage of land in Mumbai is under slums. This would include Airport Authority of India lands, private lands, central government lands, BMC lands,” the bench said.
It also asked for the area which has already been declared slum area and proposed to be declared as slums. “How much area is declared slums or in the pipeline of being declared as slum notified area. We want a chart. Give us concrete information. Area wise, zone wise,” it added.
Along with the slum area, the court also sought to know the number of slum dwellers residing there. “How much slum area and how many slum dwellers… all this information we want. The latest information,” the bench said.
The court has asked all the parties concerned to submit their suggestions on the issue, which would then be looked into by the SRA.
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State advocate general Birendra Saraf sought some more time to submit suggestions on the points raised by the SC. He said that in view of the ensuing elections, getting instructions or directives would be difficult.
The HC had kept the matter for hearing on December 6.
The SC, on July 30, asked the HC chief justice to set up a bench to “initiate suo motu proceedings” to conduct a performance audit of the state slum redevelopment law, noting, “The welfare legislation for the poor is gridlocked and more than 1,600 cases related to the Maharashtra Slum Areas (Improvement, Clearance and Redevelopment) Act are pending before the Bombay High Court.”