'People Robbed Their Own Motherland': Bombay High Court Says Citizens Equally Responsible For Mumbai's Waterlogging, Can't Blame BMC

With the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) facing flak on social media platforms for the waterlogged roads in Mumbai and its nearby cities due to the relentless rains, the Bombay High Court on Tuesday said the city was 'destined' to witness rainwater on the roads as people 'robbed their own motherland' by encroaching lands and clogging the drainage systems.

A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad said it is unfair to blame the BMC alone for the current situation as it is the citizens who have clogged the drainage systems, encroached upon the footpaths, etc. which has resulted in water logging across the city. 

"Citizens should stop blaming the corporation alone for chronic monsoons and the water-logging that follows... This is our own creation... We should stop blaming the corporation alone.... It gave us drainage lines and we filled them up... It has put pavement blocks and we started parking our cars on them... It gave us footpaths and we started having pav bhaji, pav masala etc stalls on them. Our city was destined to witness rainwater on the roads, people encroached upon public lands, blocked drainage lines and converted footpaths into parking and hawking zones," ACJ Ghuge orally observed. 

The judge pointed out that the footpaths outside the High Court building in Fort area too are not free from encroachment as most space of the footpaths is taken over by photocopy shops, tea and juice vendors, which has made it impossible for the pedestrians to walk. 

"Our habit is to rob our own motherland. We put all the dirt and material inside that, we block the gutters. We grab lands and then put up our shops illegally. You can't walk. What will the corporation do?" ACJ Ghughe orally remarked. 

Further, the bench pointed out to the 'pattern' followed by most citizens, who encroach on a land, without knowing the law but whenever the civic body initiates action, they start using the law to protect their wrong. 

"When the corporation comes for demolition, you want seven days' notice period... And then suddenly the law books are opened but when you grab the land, nobody reads the law... So that is how things are in Mumbai.... We are destined to see rainwater on the road with everything clogged...." ACJ Ghuge opined. 

The strong oral observations were made while hearing a plea highlighting the issue of a road-widening project at the Mandala village near Mankhurd area in Mumbai.

While the civic body through senior advocate Dr Milind Sathe claimed that it was already taking requisite action paving way to make a 30-feet wide road. However, since the BARC (Bhabha Atomic Research Centre) staff quarters are situated near the road in question, it is the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) which has to provide the further parcel of the land for widening the road to 50 feet by removing the illegal encroachers on its part.

The bench has now adjourned the hearing till a further date with a notice to the DAE, asking it to respond if it seeks to widen the road to 50 feet or not. 

Case Title: Atish Anand Vaity vs Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (Writ Petition 4069 of 2025)