Supreme Court Petition Advocates for BMC to Be Sole Planning Authority in Mumbai
Click to start listening
New Delhi, Dec 15 (NationPress) A public interest litigation (PIL) has been submitted to the Supreme Court requesting the Urban Development Department of the Maharashtra government to appoint the BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) as the exclusive and centralized planning and sanctioning authority for the city of Mumbai.
The petition stated that Section 40 of the Maharashtra Regional & Town Planning (MRTP) Act, 1966, which allows the state government to designate a Special Planning Authority (SPA) for notified areas, was enacted prior to the Constitution (74th Amendment) Act, which came into effect in June 1993.
“This amendment introduced Part IXA, titled 'The Municipalities' (Articles 243P to 243ZG along with Twelfth Schedule), which created the structure for the constitution, composition, and duties of Municipalities. However, Section 40 has not been revised to clearly define the roles, powers, and responsibilities of a SPA in relation to matters detailed in Schedule XII,”
the plea continued.
Despite this ambiguity, the Urban Development Department went ahead to appoint multiple SPAs, which undermined the planning and sanctioning authority of the BMC, the petition argued, asserting that “this confusion has negatively impacted BMC’s capacity to tackle critical issues in Schedule XII, such as urban planning, land use regulation, building construction, road and bridge upkeep, and slum enhancement.”
The PIL, lodged through advocate Dilip Annasaheb Taur, claimed that this method has obstructed urban development and restricted citizens' access to services due to a lack of transparency and consistency in the approval processes of the SPAs, the transfer of public amenities, and the execution of the eighteen responsibilities outlined in Schedule XII.
“The inadequate transparency in transferring amenities to the BMC hampers effective urban planning and adversely affects residents, depriving them of vital services and facilities,”
it noted.
The BMC, established under the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act of 1888 (MMC Act), operates as both the governing civic body and the planning authority for Mumbai in alignment with the MRTP Act, 1966.
The petition emphasized that the presence of multiple planning authorities (without a clear distinction of responsibilities) has resulted in operational inefficiencies, and the planning and sanctioning process of the SRA is fraught with “significant deficiencies.”
According to the causelist published on the apex court's website, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan will address the case on December 16.
