HC bars construction on Thane’s Ghodbunder road as water scarcity worsens

An extreme scarcity of drinking water has forced the Mumbai High Court to order a temporary ban on all constructions on Thane's Ghodbunder Road, a haven for real estate developers.

Observing that concrete construction can remain without water but not human beings, a division bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice GS Kulkarni of the Bombay high court on Friday directed the Thane Municipal Corporation to stop granting permission for new construction and issue of occupancy certificates for buildings in Ghodbunder Road until 9 June.

''People are reeling under the heat, water should be treated as life-saving. Thane Municipal Corporation cannot shun their statutory responsibility," the court observed

The court passed the order on a petition by residents claiming that the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) was unable to provide adequate water to new highrises coming up on Ghodbunder Road and that occupants if these buildings depended on private water tanker suppliers.

''It is needless to say that in many of the highrises, apart from requiring water for construction, subsequent to construction and occupation, no water connections are provided and occupants are forced to buy water for day-to-day necessities. It is nothing but leaving them to the mercy of the builders,'' the bench noted.

The court noted that resident are forced to take water daily from tankers and are thus left to the mercy of builders.

The civic body opposed the plea claiming that sufficient water is being provided to threse buildings and that there was no shortage. However, advocate for the petitioner V Patil refuted the claim saying he himself resided in Ghodbunder road and there was indeed a scarcity of water.

The public interest litigation was filed by Thane resident Mangesh Shelar claiming a severe shortage of water supply in various housing complexes at Ghodbunder road.

Advocate VP Patil argued that housing societies are not getting proper water supply and are forced to call for water tankers on a daily basis. Complaints to the civic body have fallen on deaf ears.

"Maharashtra is a welfare state. Providing water is the duty of the corporation and by not doing so it seems a parallel water tanker economy is being promoted," the court observed while hearing the plea earlier.