MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Monday paved the way for the appointment of a new developer for one of the largest slum rehabilitation projects in Mumbai, which has been stalled for nearly two decades. Spread across 50,000 square metres in Jogeshwari East, the project is intended for the rehabilitation of 7,200 slum dwellers.
A single-judge bench of justice NJ Jamadar upheld an April order of the Apex Grievance Redressal Committee (AGRC), which recommended that the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) be allowed to float tenders to appoint a new developer. The court dismissed petitions filed by JC Flowers Asset Reconstruction Pvt Ltd and Manomay Ventures Pvt Ltd, which had challenged the AGRC’s order. The quasi-judicial body, which handles disputes related to slum rehabilitation projects, had also recommended the cancellation of benefits granted to JC Flowers under a state amnesty scheme and allowed the SRA to utilise the deposited funds to clear outstanding transit rent dues payable to the families whose slums had been cleared for the project. JC Flowers and Manomay Ventures challenged the order, primarily arguing that the AGRC lacked jurisdiction to issue it.
Therefore, it cannot be said that the AGRC had no jurisdiction, the judge noted.
“A matter concerning thousands of slum dwellers, who have been left in the lurch, with no prospect of implementation of the slum rehabilitation scheme, even under the amnesty scheme, cannot be said to be beyond the jurisdictional competence of the AGRC, when specifically entrusted to it by the state government,” the judge said, while dismissing the petitions. On Monday, justice Jamadar dismissed the petitions, noting that, apart from the slum dwellers’ complaints, the state government had also written to the AGRC to review the entire scheme in view of the delay.
The court has clarified that the state government can now take an appropriate decision on the recommendations made by the AGRC after considering all the facts and circumstances of the case.
