Bombay High Court Blames Citizens For Mumbai Waterlogging In Road Widening Hearing
On Tuesday, July 7, 2026, the Bombay High Court stated that citizens must stop blaming the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) alone for chronic monsoon waterlogging in Mumbai, attributing the issue to public encroachments and infrastructure misuse. The observations were made by a bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad during a hearing concerning a road-widening project at Mandala village on the Sion-Trombay stretch.
The court was hearing an interim application filed by the BMC, which is seeking directions to the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to hand over land required to widen the existing road at Mandala village.
Senior Advocate Milind Sathe, representing the BMC, informed the court that the civic body has already cleared encroachments on its portion of the 30-foot-wide road and felled approximately 192 trees for the project. However, the remaining land needed to expand the road to 50 feet belongs to the DAE, which oversees the nearby Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). Sathe stated that the BMC is prepared to proceed with the widening once the DAE hands over the encroachment-free land.
During the proceedings, Justice Ghuge remarked on public apathy, stating that the city's flooding is "our own creation" rather than solely the fault of the civic body. He noted that while the corporation provides drainage lines, citizens fill them up, and park cars on pavement blocks.
Justice Ghuge observed that people routinely encroach on public land and choke drains, causing roads to block after short spells of rain. He also highlighted encroachments directly outside the High Court, where photocopy kiosks, tea stalls, and juice vendors occupy footpaths, preventing people from walking.
The bench further criticized the tendency of citizens to invoke legal safeguards only after demolition actions begin, noting that people demand notices after grabbing land without reading the law.
The High Court issued a notice to the DAE regarding the BMC's plea, stating that the department must decide on providing the additional land required for the road expansion. The court scheduled the next hearing for later this month.
