Mumbai
Updated : Dec 18, 2014, 07:31 AM IST
The Bombay high court on Tuesday directed the state government to work out a way by January 30 next year to allot land and funds to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to build night shelters which can be occupied by persons who sleep on pavements.
A division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice AS Gadkari appointed two court commissioners who would make an informed and a surprise visit to the nine existing night shelters in the city and submit a report on their condition.
The court also directed the state to clarify with the Union government whether it will be providing 70 per cent of the funding as prescribed in the Act. The court said the government should implement the assurances given to the Supreme Court.
The directions were given during the hearing of a Public Interest Litigation filed by a non-government organisation (NGO), Homeless Collective, which has highlighted the plight of the pavement dwellers. It has in its PIL prayed that directions be given to the civic and state authorities to identify homeless persons and ensure adequate night shelters for them.
The petitioner maintained that for every one lakh population in a city, there should one night shelter as per the National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM). According to that norm, Mumbai should have 207 shelters. However, only nine night shelters are operating at the moment, the PIL pointed out, as opposed to the 25 that were promised in 2012.
The BMC is supposed to construct shelter homes with the state government providing funds and MHADA giving the requisite land.