Bombay HC tells BMC to organise civic cases

Mumbai: The Bombay high court has directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) commissioner Ajoy Mehta to show precise mechanism within a month in organising court cases related to the civic body. The court also expressed dissatisfaction over the steps taken by the BMC to organise court cases.

A division bench of Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice Makarand Karnik was hearing a petition over dilapidated buildings in the city. On last hearing, after the BMC lawyer failed to give concrete replies to the court query, the court issued summoned to BMC commissioner Ajoy Mehta to appear before it.

Mr Mehta informed the court that corporation covers a vast area and it is already short staffed. He said, “Corporation currently has just 89 law officers to handle the 90,000 ongoing cases in various courts in the city as well as the apex court.”

“While 74 of these law officers handle court cases, the remaining 15 handle office work. On any given day the civic body has to tackle around 1,500 cases,” added Mr Mehta.

Mr Mehta also informed the court that corporation is already in the process of streamlining its law process.

He also said corporation would increase its law department’s strength and it has in place an integrated online system to keep track of all pending litigations. Mr Mehta said that he is considering appointing two IAS officers to organise law department.

The court then suggested that civic body can take advice from the state government, saying that probably it deals with an equal amount of litigation as BMC.

The court said that due to lack of assistance from the corporation if tomorrow any building collapses in Mumbai, the court also be equally responsible for it. The court said, “Corporation is often unable to present its side of arguments, or that it has failed to file its reply in the case, therefore we are forced to grant relief to many developers who comes here to seek protection from demolition.