[Urbanstudy] Upholding their right to water Give water to illegal slums as it is a constitutional right: Bombay High Court

[Vinay Baindur]

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-give-water-to-illegal-slums-as-it-is-a-constitutional-right-bombay-high-court-2044267




*Give water to illegal slums as it is a constitutional right: Bombay High
Court*Monday, 15 December 2014 - 11:55pm IST | Place: Mumbai


    *
The Bombay High Court on Monday ruled that Mumbai's civic body was
duty-bound to supply water to illegal slums in and around the city *as
people had a right under the Constitution to get water*.
However, a bench headed by Justice Abhay Oka asked the Brihanmumbai
Municipal Corporation (BMC) to demolish illegal slums which have come up
after year 2000. It also directed the civic body to come out with a policy
on how would it provide water supply to the illegal slums. The bench was of
the view that the manner in which water is supplied to slums should not be
different from the (water supply) scheme adopted for the citizens of the
city and suburbs.
The court said that water was a basic need of people as they cannot live
without it. They said the citizens had a right under Article 21 of the
Constitution (protection of life) to get water.
The matter arose during the hearing of a public interest litigation (PIL)
filed by Nivara Hakk, an NGO, for protection and preservation of open
spaces in the city. It also raised an issue of illegal conversion,
diversion or reduction of open spaces in the guise of slum rehabilitation.
The PIL challenged the Government Resolution (GR) dated June 3, 1992 on
theMaharashtra government policy on open spaces encroached by slums
dwellers. It said that over 45-50 per cent of Mumbai's population lives in
slums. Greater Mumbai has about 482.74 sq kms area, out of which about
220.54 sq kms is marked for development for housing, industrial,
commercial, service etc. This excludes the area earmarked for railways,
roadways, airport, defence etc, which is about 54 sq kms.
There is merely an area of 13.68 sq kms, which is reserved for open space
for residents of Mumbai, but 5.30 sq kms out of this is encroached. So
there is hardly 8.38 sq kms of area available as open space which can be
used for gardens, play grounds, and recreational ground etc, said the
PIL. "We are apprehensive that the implementation of the impugned GR would
cause great damage to the city as it provides for freeing up of one-third
of the land for open spaces which are encroached", said the PIL.
====================================================

*Draw up policy on water for illegal slums, Bombay HC tells state govt*Rosy
Sequeira,TNN | Dec 15, 2014, 11.59 PM IST


Mumbai: Upholding their right to water, the Bombay high court on Monday
directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to formulate a policy by
the end of February 2015 to provide supply in some form to persons
occupying illegal hutments erected after January 1, 2000, the cut-off date
for regularised slums here.


A division bench of Justices Abhay Oka and A S Gadkari granted interim
relief, in a PIL by Pani Haq Samiti, challenging a March 1996 government
circular directing the local authorities to ensure water would not be
provided to unauthorised constructions/structures. The NGO contended that
water was integral to Article 21 (Right to Life) of the Constitution, and
that no state agency or instrumentality could deny water supply to a
citizen who occupies illegal hutments after January 1, 2000.

The judges said Right to Life included right to food and water, and the
"state cannot deny water to a citizen as he is residing in a structure
illegally". The bench said even if water was provided to a person who
occupied an illegal structure, it did not create equity in his favour and
did not affect the illegal nature of the structure. They noted that even
electricity was being provided to illegal slums. The bench said neither the
state nor the BMC had disputed that many slums had come up after January 1,
2000, despite the policy to deny them water.

It observed that a person staying in an illegal structure or slum "cannot
claim right on par with a law-abiding citizen who has constructed his house
after obtaining permission or occupying an authorised construction". The
BMC was directed to "provide for payment at higher rates as those given to
authorised premises'' and that "water supply would not be necessarily by
providing water lines to individual hutments or colonies''.

The court rapped the authorities for their failure to prevent illegal
structures in Mumbai and to take action against them, saying they were
under obligation to ensure they do not come up, and if they do, to
expeditiously demolish them. The judges said the issue of Mumbai slums was
"very complicated'', and the state government had regularised illegal slums
in 1995 and 2000. "Hope is given to persons occupying illegal slums by
regularising hutments by policy decisions. Perhaps that may be a reason
people occupy illegal hutments with the hope that the state government will
come up with a third policy decision,'' they added.


Slums post-1995 must go: Sena

The Shiv Sena will stick to it stand of opposing illegal slums and
providing water to them. After the Bombay high court directed the
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corpration (BMC) to evolve a policy to provide water
in some form to residents occupying illegal slums erected after January 1,
2000.

Shailesh Phanse, Sena leader and chairman of the civic standing committee,
said their stand about illegal slums was unchanged. "All slums post-1995
should go. They are illegal," said Phanse.

He said residents from illegal slums can buy limited buckets of water for
drinking and other purpose. "If they are buying a bucket of water at Rs10,
later they will get 1,000 litres at less than Rs10, which they will use
carelessly," Phanse said. tnn
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail.mail.sarai.net/pipermail/urbanstudygroup_mail.sarai.net/attachments/20141215/f7d9ac43/attachment.html>