Over 1,300 Slum Dwellers Gets Relief As Bombay HC Changes Its Stance

The Bombay High Court (HC) has rescinded its previous judgement from 2015 that mandated the eviction of over 1,300 people living in impoverished areas spanning 2457.42 square metres owned by Thane Mental Hospital.

On Monday, October 23, a division bench consisting of Justices Firdosh Pooniwalla and Sunil Shukre changed the previous ruling. The new ruling allows the residents to stay, provided that the state government pays an additional INR 42 crore to the hospital as required by Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) redevelopment programmes.

The initial eviction order was a result of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Vrushali Kalal in 2010. The PIL sought improved execution of the Mental Health Act and cited encroachment of hospital land as a major concern.

In August 2015, the HC ordered the government and the Thane Collector to take action to eliminate encroachment on 10 acres of Thane land. 57 acres remain of the 72 acres that the mental hospital originally possessed.

Two slum societies, Saptashrungi Housing Society and Dharmveer Nagar CHS, petitioned the High Court to modify the eviction order. They argued that many of the slums had been there since before 1995 and were therefore protected from eviction by law.

Anil Singh, their attorney, contended that neither the state nor the mental hospital objected to the SRA plans on the plot. He argued that the health department would then be entitled to get INR 42 crore, or 25% of the land premium. This money could be used to update the hospital's infrastructure.

However, advocate Mihir Desai opposed this plea as an amicus curiae, or friend of the court. He argued that the hospital project might be negatively impacted by the slum redevelopment initiative. The government also stated that rehabilitating the slums would be extremely expensive and time-consuming.

In light of these arguments and an affidavit submitted by the hospital, the HC changed its order in March. It gave Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) 15 acres for building a new train station. This station will be under Thane's Smart City Project.