HC criticises BMC's poor preparation for rains

Mumbai, Jul 5: The Bombay High Court today came down heavily on Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for its alleged failure to provide proper drainage system in the metropolis during last five days of continuous downpours.

A division bench comprising Justice R M Lodha and Justice S A Bagga directed the BMC to file an affidavit and blueprint pertaining to the expenditure incurred by the BMC for the improvement of drainage system in the city.

The BMC Commissioner Johny Joseph had submitted in the court that they had received the fund for improvement of drainage system in the city. On which the court had asked the corporation how they had utilised the fund for improvement of drainage system.

The court was hearing the PIL (Public Interest Litigation) filed by a senior citizen Dr Sandilp Rane who alleged that the present system was not capable of handling drainage during the rainy season.

It may recalled that during the earlier occasion, while court was hearing the PIL for Mithi River, the BMC had stated that they had improved the drainage line and this time, there was no possibility of failure of drainage system.

The petitioner also pointed out that inspite of the expenditure incurred in crores of rupees for drainage line, there was no improvement.

The court was also surprised that despite the huge expenditure, the BMC did not have the capacity to handle the situation in the city. Incidentally, no one was present in the court to represent the BMC.

UNI

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