‘High time we value human lives’: Bombay High Court warns of shutting down Kanjurmarg dumping site

A bench of Justices Girish S Kulkarni and Aarti A Sathe also observed that the court-appointed high-powered committee (HPC) headed by the state chief secretary under the supervision of Deputy Chief Minister and Urban Development Minister Eknath Shinde was also working in a “very lax manner”, which was “terrible”, and the officials were not considering it to be a “crisis”.

“From what is now presented before us, things internationally appear to be in a very, very bad shape or light. If they are not improved, we will pass a reasoned order stopping the operations of this dumping ground. It is now high time that we value human lives. There is a problem right from the time this land was earmarked,” Justice Kulkarni orally remarked.

Advocate Abhijeet Rane, for the petitioners, argued that, as per reports, the Kanjurmarg site has been ranked 12th among the world’s top 25 super-polluting methane emission sites. “It is similar to the Bhopal gas tragedy…we are facing for the last 13 years. Officers and polluters have to be made liable,” he added.

‘Cautioning the authorities’

In its order, the bench noted, “We do not find that the ill-effects of such emission, caused due to the mismanagement of the dumping site, have been adequately addressed. If these ill-effects are not being addressed and stringent corrective measures are not being taken by the committee appointed by us or by the officers of the Municipal Corporation, then, in such circumstances, considering that human life is paramount, in the light of the provisions of Article 21(Right to life) of the Constitution which stare at the State Government and the municipal authorities, there would be no alternative for the Court but to restrict/ stop the activities at the present site.”

The bench went on to note, “We accordingly caution both the municipal as well as the state authorities about the seriousness of the situation. We further direct that, in the event drastic orders are required to be passed, the state authorities and municipal authorities shall start working towards identifying an alternative site so that the dumping activities can be shifted to a location that is not adversely affecting human life/ habitation. Such operations can, at least partly, be transferred to such a site, in our prima facie opinion.”

The court directed authorities to file affidavits on the site’s latest position, concerns raised in news reports citing an international survey, and on handling a “site being internationally considered as one of the worst dumping grounds”, based on which it will pass orders on April 27. In the meantime, the judges indicated they would visit the site.

Senior advocate Anil Sakhare, for the BMC, submitted the committee report concerned deems the Kanjurmarg facility relocation “presently not feasible”, and abrupt discontinuation without alternatives would severely impact Mumbai’s solid waste management. He said authorities are addressing concerns, including methane emissions.

The contractor’s advocate, Saket Mone, said the monitoring committee-recommended measures were implemented, and people can now walk on the nearby road, and that a shift to waste‑to‑energy from bioreactor would resolve methane issues.