‘Richest municipal corporation can’t ignore plight of PAP’: High Court pulls up BMC over non-payment of rent, alternate accommodation

Senior advocate Girish Godbole for petitioner stated that, instead he was compelled to take up Permanent Alternate Accommodation (PAA) at Mahul, which he refused to accept due to bad air quality and the region being declared as ‘unfit for human habitation’ due to ‘serious air pollution problem’ in a 2019 HC order.

Godbole submitted that while the BMC is in process of acquiring alternate tenements, there is a shortage and the civic body is not in a position to clarify as to when the same will be acquired and be given to the petitioner.

The bench noted that the only distinction between the petitioner and other eligible persons was that the others actually moved to Mahul but Shaikh did not.

“Considering that the NGT has also accepted the position about the bad air quality at Mahul, no discrimination can be practised based on such a circumstance,” it observed.

Pulling up the civic body, it went on to note, “The BMC, after having demolished the Petitioner’s house in November 2017 and adjudged the Petitioner eligible to receive the permanent alternate accommodation, cannot treat this matter so casually. The BMC is unable to say when it would allot permanent alternate accommodation and, at the same time, is resisting payment of compensation or rent in lieu of accommodation.”

It added, ” The BMC, which is the richest municipal corporation in the Country, cannot act arbitrarily and completely ignore the plight of the petitioner whose house they demolished in November 2017.”

It granted ad-interim relief to Shaikh by directing the civic body to pay him Rs. 10, 000 per month and posted further hearing on his plea to July 29.