Says election cant be an excuse for delay Unhappy with the snail pace progress in removal of encroachments around Mumbais endangered ancient Hindu and Buddhist cave temple complexes dating back to the first century AD,the Bombay High Court on Wednesday gave an ultimatum to the authorities concerned. Observing that it was a sorry state of affairs,division bench of Justice Bilal Nazki and Justice V K Tahilramani has directed all the authorities concerned,including the Secretary of Urban Development department,to complete the removal of encroachments by June 8,as fixed by the government. By June 8 you should have completed from A to Z or you will be hauled up, Justice Nazki said. Justice Nazki further observed that the schedule fixed by the Secretary (UD department) has not been adhered to. So as last opportunity we grant time till June 8. Any violation shall be construed as contempt of court, Justice Nazki cautioned. The judges were further miffed by the affidavit filed by the Secretary of UD department Manu Kumar Srivastava,which stated that the final decision with regard to modification of land would be taken after expiry of the period of model code of conduct in view of the elections. You cant remove encroachments because of election? Justice Nazki asked. This is ridiculous. You dont want to act, he said,adding that either the authorities are incompetent or they want to avoid this. State government told the court that they are taking action and have called for suggestions and objections after which a report has been called for from the Deputy Director of Town Planning. The court pointed out that it was the government itself which had fixed the time schedule and not the court. The caves which lie neglected with sewage and waste entering its premises had become territories for bats and encroachers. The plan for removal of encroachments was chalked out following court directions based on a PIL filed by Janhit Manch,an NGO for the conservation of the Jogeshwari,Mahakali,Kanheri and Mandapeshwar,based on Newsline reports on the neglected condition of the caves. In August 2008,the authorities concerned had submitted a six-month plan to the court following which the court had sought for a quarterly report detailing the progress of the plan. G S Narasimhan,Superintendent of Archeology,in March this year had said that encroachments are still to be removed. Encroachments are not removed so far. There are still a lot of things to be done, Narasimhan told the Newsline. The court constituted committee headed by Srivastava had decided to conduct a joint survey after which the corporation will issue notices and take necessary action. Amicus Curie (friend of the court) and member of the committee Shiraz Rustomji had told the court that Jogeshwari caves needed the attention of the court as there were encroachments even on top of the cave and not just in the prohibited area around them.
