Monday , December 23 2024

Municipalities should protect interests of residents, not builders: High Court

Mumbai: The High Court has quashed the order refusing to Mumbai Municipality to construct upper floor for a building in Tardeo. The reason given by the Municipality was that the road on which the building is being constructed is very narrow.

Noting that the plight of over a hundred tenants who have vacated their flats is not a matter of concern to the municipality, the court emphasized that the existence of the municipality is to protect the interests of the residents and not of developers or For builders.

The court said that the width of the road was the same when the redevelopment permission was given. Permission cannot be denied at the last minute, especially when the developer or owner has spent money and made plans as per previous approvals.

If the road was not wide enough to allow permission then permission should have been refused in the beginning itself. This step of the municipality is wrong in every respect from the point of law. The court passed an order on the petition of Gufran Suleman Qureshi, owner of a property with 110 tenants on Bapti Road, and described the petitioner as unfortunate.

The court directed the municipality to approve the petitioner's application for granting CC up to the 33rd floor.