The Bombay High Court has modified its 2015 order and prevented the ouster of close to 1,300 slum dwellers from an over six-acre slum sprawl on land belonging to the Thane Mental Hospital. The relief to the slum dwellers is subject to the state paying a Rs 42 crore premium to the Mental Hospital as entailed under redevelopment schemes of the Slum Rehabilitation Authority directed a bench of Justices S B Shukre and F P Pooniwalla.
The High Court said that the proposed slum rehabilitation schemes for eligible slum dwellers are permitted on the hospital land. The court dismissed the apprehension raised by senior counsel Mihir Desai, who had been appointed as the amicus curiae, regarding the possible adverse effect of the slum scheme on the hospital project. The High Court stated that the hospital stands to gain about Rs 42 crore, which can be utilized to improve its facilities and quality of service to patients.
In August 2015, the High Court had directed the state government and the Thane Collector to take steps to remove encroachments on 10 acres of land in Thane and not to allot the Mental Hospital land to any third party. The PIL, filed in 2010 by Vrushali Kalal, alleged encroachment on the hospital land and sought better implementation of the Mental Health Act.
In 2019 and 2020, slum societies approached the High Court, stating that many residents on the land, who have been living there since before 1995, are protected by law against eviction and are eligible for Slum Rehabilitation Authority schemes to obtain free permanent tenements.
Two slum societies, Dharmveer Nagar and Saptashrungi Housing Society, through ex-ASG Anil Singh, stated that redevelopment schemes were already proposed, and removing the slum occupants now would deny them the benefits of the Slum Rehabilitation Authority scheme. The state and the Mental Hospital had no objection to the Slum Rehabilitation Authority schemes on the plot, as the health department is entitled to receive 25% of the land premium, which amounts to Rs 42 crore. The High Court agreed to this arrangement.
The hospital, in an affidavit, mentioned that the High Court had granted 15 acres to the Thane Municipal Corporation for the construction of a new railway station as part of the Thane Smart City Project. The High Court had modified its 2015 order to prevent illegal allotments and to allow for a public project.
The Mental Hospital initially had 72 acres of land, but now only 57 acres remain. Desai and advocate Neeta Sarnaik, who represented an intervenor opposing the slum dwellers’ plea, argued that there is no right to be relocated in-situ on the mental hospital land itself and stated that the slum scheme could be implemented elsewhere. The state claimed that the costs and delays involved in rehabilitating the slums would be significant, and it is permissible to compensate the mental health hospital for the loss of its land if a slum scheme is permitted on it.
The state issued a Government Resolution in April to remove encroachment on eight acres. The High Court clarified that its 2015 order does not apply to the two slum plots, nor does the state’s Government Resolution obstruct the implementation of Slum Rehabilitation Authority schemes.
