HC asks govt to reconsider protection to shanties

Mumbai, Sep 5 (UNI) Questioning as to how Maharashtra's policy to protect slums could overwrite central enactments, the Bombay High Court today directed the state government to reconsider its decision to declare and thereby protect shanties in the prohibited area around historical caves in the Metropolis A division bench comprising Justice J N Patel and Justice Amjad Sayyad also directed the collector and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to forthwith demolish all shanties standing within the prohibited area--hundred meters--of Jogeshwari, Kanheri and Mandapeshwar caves.

The BMC commissioner and concerned collector have been ordered to carry out the demolitions.

The court came across a slum rehabilitation scheme being undertaken around the Jogeshwari cave while hearing motions of three builders, whose construction projects came to a halt due to a court order, one of which was a SRA project.

The court observed that state's policy to protect slums upto January 1, 2000 could not overwrite a central enactment like Archaelogical Monuments Act, that protects monuments of archaelogical values and in that light directed the state government to reconsider notifications issued declaring such shanties as slums and granting them protection.

The court has also directed Additional Solicitor General Rajendra Raghuvanshi to personaly visit all the three caves in Mumbai and file within four weeks, a comphrensive affidavit of Archaeological Survey of India. The directives came on a public interest litigation filed by Janhit Manch.

UNI