Illegal structures rebuilt? Raze it again, BMC told

Mumbai: The BMC cannot "throw its hands up", if an illegal structure it has demolished is rebuilt, the Bombay high court said. 

    Hearing a petition filed by a housing society in Santa Cruz against an unauthorized construction, a division bench of Justice A M Khanwilkar and Justice R D Dhanuka reminded the BMC recently that it was the corporation's responsibility to keep public land free of encroachers. 
    "The fact that the structure has been put up on the same place (after it was demolished) does not absolve the corporation from taking action against the said structure if it is an unauthorized structure on the approach road forming part of the property belonging to Mhada," said the judges, adding, "It is the corporation's duty to ensure that no unauthorized or illegal structures are erected on public property. Omkar society at Anand Nagar in Santa Cruz had filed the petition against "failure on the part of the BMC and Mhada" to take action against an illegal structure that had come up on the approach 
road to the housing complex. The BMC claimed that the structure was demolished by it in 2009. The court said the BMC could not wash its hands of if the structure comes up again. The BMC also complained that Mhada, which owns the property, had not furnished it details about the structure, while the structure's owner claimed that it was a civil dispute. "The corporation being the planning authority is free to proceed in the matter in accordance with the law and if it is noticed that one or the other party is not co-operating in the proceedings, may record that fact and proceed on the basis of the record available in its office with regard to the offending structure," the court said. 
    The court has last month, similarly rapped the BMC for its lackadaisical approach to illegal constructions in the city. 
    The HC had asked the BMC to set up a mechanism to redress complaints against encroachments. In another matter, the bench, headed by Justice Khanwilkar, said there was no need for the BMC to wait for an FIR to be registered before taking action against unauthorized structures. The court had also warned government officials from creating "obstacles" for BMC officers over action against such structures.