State told to find space for PAPs in city

Mumbai: The Bombay high court has come down heavily on the chief secretary (CS) who has submitted in an affidavit that the state is not in a position to rehabilitate families affected by the Tansa pipeline eviction due to lack of space in the city.

The court expressed its dissatisfaction, stating that it was the responsibility of the state to rehabilitate project-affected persons (PAP) and asked the chief secretary to file a fresh affidavit in this regard.

The CS filed an affidavit stating that there was no space in Marol to rehabilitate the PAP after they refused to move to Mahul due to the pollution problem there.  

A division bench of Justice A.S. Oka and Justice Riyaz Chagla was hearing the pleas of persons who had been evicted by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in compliance with an earlier high court order from along the Tansa pipeline.

The petitioners had sought directions to the BMC and state to rehabilitate them in Mumbai city itself as Mahul was not habitable due to high levels of pollution there.

In the previous hearing, the court had directed the chief secretary to file an affidavit on behalf of the state as to where the PAPs could be accommodated in Mumbai.