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Government to issue tenders in 10 days for demolition of Mazagaon Court building

By the end of 2017, the government expects to complete the plinth level of the new structure and, by 2019, the 17-storey building is estimated to be completed. The new building will house 44 court rooms.

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The state government informed the Bombay High court on Monday that, within 10 days, it would issue tenders calling for a specialised agency to demolish the dilapidated Mazagaon Court building. The statement was made after the court reprimanded the government for a delay in carrying out its responsibilities.

A division bench of justice SC Dharmadhikari and justice Dr Shalini Phansalkar Joshi expressed displeasure that the government had not yet decided the outer limit by when it would demolish the structure. The bench observed: "This is not like your flyovers which, even after being built, are not opened to the public because they are not inaugurated. We will not allow you (the state government) to inaugurate the demolition of the court building."

The bench then sought a definite response from the government as to when it would demolish the building, which was vacated overnight in 2013. Acting advocate general Rohit Deo informed the court that the government will not limit the release of funds to Rs29 crore as the sanctioned amount for this year. If need be, the law and judiciary department will release more funds for the construction, he said.

By the end of 2017, the government expects to complete the plinth level of the new structure and, by 2019, the 17-storey building is estimated to be completed. The new building will house 44 court rooms.

The court's statement was made during the hearing of a petition filed by the Mazgaon Court Bar Association stating that there has been no progress in the construction of the new court building. The five-storey Mazgaon Court building was inaugurated in 1997 by the then chief minister Manohar Joshi and the then Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court MB Shah. There were 13 courts in the Mazgaon building covering several police stations, such as Pydhonie, Dongri, JJ Marg, Nagpada, Agripada and Kalachowki. After the building was declared dangerous, the court has been functioning from the Sewri sessions court.

The state government had then proposed to build a new court building at an estimated cost of Rs387 crore. However, the state government has earmarked a Rs29-crore yearly budget for the construction. Advocate Uday Warunjikar, appearing for the bar association, argued: "With this much of budget being allocated for the construction of the building each year, the completion will take a minimum of 30 years. In that case, the court building will never be ready."

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