Mumbai: The Bombay high court (HC) on Wednesday directed the state government to pay Rs 15,000 per month as rent and a Rs 45,000 deposit to people who were shifted from the premises of the Tansa pipeline to Mahul, an industrial area in the eastern part of the city.
Last year, on the direction of the HC, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had started demolishing shanties within 100 metres of the Tansa pipeline. As many as 7,000 families have been affected by the demolition drive and only 225 of them have shifted to Mahul.
The HC also directed the state government to provide alternate accommodation to slum dwellers. The state had decided to accommodate displaced persons in Mahul, but some of them have refused to shift, citing high air pollution levels due to the presence of oil refineries in nearby areas. The affected people had relied on an observation made by the Mumbai bench of the National Green Tribunal about pollution levels in Mahul in a related matter.
A division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice M. Sanklecha noted, “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.” It further said the government couldn't force anyone to live in a polluted area.
“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 judges observed.
“The government shall pay each family Rs 15,000 per month along with a Rs 45,000 refundable deposit by way of rent for those persons who choose to forfeit their right to a tenement in Mahul,” they said.
The families will then have a month to vacate their structures after which the BMC shall resume demolition, the judges said. The BMC was asked to complete the demolition by November 30.
