Obstacles to highway expansion at Dahisar cleared

It was in 1957 that the alignment of the Western Express Highway upto Dahisar was marked and fixed. Acquisitiions proceedings were initiated and completed in respect of the lands falling within this area by 1964/65. The state government in 1990 decided to widen the existing western highway and set up a full fledged toll plaza. However, in 1998 when the survey was being conducted to measure the alignment of the toll plaza, 25 structures were found to have been erected allegedly unauthorizedly within the demarcated line of the road widening project. While some of these were abutting the demarcation line and which had to be partly demolished, at least five structures were within the highway line and had to be demolished entirely.

The deputy engineer of the Public Works Department, Road Development Division then sent a notice to the structure owners to remove them under threat of action under law. The owners of these structures, apparantly belonging to the Upadhyaya Estate Traders Welfare Association then approached the President of the Slum Tribunal who on January 21, 1998 passed an ex-parte order declaring it a slum and directing status quo to be maintained. On October 12 1998, the association again moved the tribunal seeking that no demolition should be allowed without providing for alternate accommodations. Surprisingly, the state government was sent a telegram on November 14, 1998 that was a second saturday and a government holiday, that the parties would be making the application in the residence of the president of the tribunal. Since the telegram could not be received as all the offices were closed, the government was eventually told that on Sunday, the president passed an order that part demolition could be allowed for some ofthe structures, but the ones that fell entirely within the highway region, were to be demolished only if there was alternate accommodation given.

Representations to the Tribunal to hear the government’s side were not taken up by the President, the state government claimed. When it was finally heard in March 1999, the President passed the orders directing that the structures that had to be totally demolished had to be provided with alternate accommodations.

The state then appealed against these orders at the court of Justice A P Shah today. Assistant government pleader Abhay Patki argued that the Slum Tribunal President had exceeded his brief in entertaining the appeal of the slum dwellers, since the land had already been acquired by the highway authorities. “The tribunal had powers only in hearing cases in the nature of appeals against lower authorities, but could not entertain appeals that involved the highway authorities,” he argued.

He pointed out that due to the delay caused by the tribunal’s orders, the cost of the toll plaza had shot up from an estimated Rs 3 crore to Rs nine crore. Further, as far as the structures were concerned, they were entirely illegal and there was no scope for any alternate structures to be provided to them.

Justice Shah accordingly allowed the appeal against the March 1999 and November 1998 orders and dimissed the pending appeal before the tribunal. The owners of the structures on the highway have been directed to remove them within four weeks or the state will take steps according to law.