MUMBAI: Observing that it is a “long unbroken cry for long-delayed justice,” Bombay high court directed Mhada to allot a man whose family had waited close to half a century for flat, one in a 16-storey building at Patelwadi, Parel village, and give him its possession.
“The petitioner and his family have waited a full 48 years for the allotmentof a re-accommodation tenement…For the last seven weeks, since 6th October we have been told… it will be allotted at any time. And it is only now that we are told that it cannot be allotted because the tenement in question is 579 sq ft and apparently the petitioner’s entitlement is only 300 sq ft,” said Justices Gautam Patel and Kamal Khata on Thursday.
According to 34-year-old Ravindra Bhatuse’s petition, in November 1975, his grandfather was issued notice to vacate his 106-square-foot room in Zenab Manzil, Byculla, and sent to Antop Hill transit camp. He was evicted a second time in 2018 as the transit building became dilapidated. As he was not given a re-accommodation, he shifted to his village. He died in October 2007 and his wife in July 2009. His son had earlier died in January 1996, leaving behind his widow and grandson Ravindra. “One generation gone. The second generation is partly gone. There was no vestige of a re-accommodation being given,” the judges noted. In February 2010, the grandfather “long deceased, long evicted, long banished from this city” was held eligible for permanent alternate accommodation. Before HC, his advocates Yashodeep Deshmukh and Akash Jaiswar said in spite of repeated enquiries and representations, Bhatuse was not allotted premises as per his entitlement.
“We will be forgiven if we asked one question that stares us in the face: What kind of government and what kind of authority treats its own citizens like this? From 2010 to 2023, nothing happened. We mean that literally,” the judges noted.
Bhatuse had identified a 579-sq-ft flat at Dosti Belleza in Parel village. It was surrendered by the developer to Mhada as a surplus area. Bhatuse was willing to pay for the extra area apart from the 300 sq ft he is entitled free of cost under the state’s policy.
When Mhada’s advocate P G Lad said “everybody will start demanding more,” the judges said there is no basis for the apprehension as Bhatuse is not asking this area for free and has agreed to pay at a rate prescribed by Mhada. Directing Mhada to allot him the 579 sq ft, the judges said, “We remind both ourselves and Mhada that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it always bends towards justice.”
On Friday, the judges clarified that Bhatuse will pay for the additional 279 sq ft at the ready reckoner rate or market value, whichever is higher. They said Lad “is correct that if heavily discounted cost of construction is applied to the petitioner, it will have to be applied to almost everybody and will open floodgates”.
Granting Bhatuse a month to pay Mhada, they directed that within 24 hours of payment he will be put in possession of the apartment.