(Reproduced from the Mumbai Mirror January 10, 2008 pg 9 )
These chowkies must go
Bombay HC orders demolition of illegal and sponsored police chowkies outside Khar railway station, National College in Bandra and near Gol Deoul temple in Pydhonie
MUMBAI MIRROR BUREAU
The Bombay High Court has ordered the demolition of three illegal chowkies — outside Khar railway station (west), outside National College (Bandra) and near Gol Deoul temple in Pydhonie (south Mumbai) — within a week.
While hearing a PIL about illegal and sponsored chowkies in the city, the court said on Wednesday, “Mumbai has a threat from its own police force now.” The PIL was filed by one I K Chhugani.
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The division Bench presided over by Justice J N Patel and Justice Nishita Mhatre also threatened to summon the director general of police, commissioner of police and BMC commissioner to court if they don’t implement the court order.
The chowkies in Khar and Bandra fall under the jurisdiction of the Khar police station. The one at Pydhonie is under the jurisdiction of the V P Road police station.
The division Bench presided over by Justice J N Patel and Justice Nishita Mhatre also threatened to summon the director general of police, commissioner of police and BMC commissioner to court if they don’t implement the court order.
The chowkies in Khar and Bandra fall under the jurisdiction of the Khar police station. The one at Pydhonie is under the jurisdiction of the V P Road police station.
“We can understand migrants or hawkers encroaching in the city. But it’s really humiliating when the police itself does not abide the law,” said Justice Patel.
The chowkie at Pydhonie is built right outside the shop of another petitioner, Nasreen Adenwala. What’s interesting is that people wanting to enter the shop will have to pass through the chowkie.
“This chowkie was built in 1993. It obstructs entry into the shop ‘Adenwala Marbles’ owned by us for 30 years,” argued Adenwala’s lawyer Naveen Chomal.
“The state has found out of 391 chowkies, 252 are illegal. We have discontinued five illegal chowkies till now,” public prosecutor Satish Borulkar informed the court.
The court specifically showed displeasure towards the affidavit filed by BMC Commissioner Dr Jayraj Phatak. The affidavit citing the Development Control Regulation (DCR) Act, 1991, said any structure erected by government departments can be regularised. In other words, such structures are legal. However, these three chowkies are sponsored and not government-funded.
So the court, after taking the affidavit on record, observed, “With all humility, we express that the municipal commissioner is not justified in issuing such a communication to the police department in reference to various illegal chowkies.”
The court also took the joint commissioner of police (administration) Hemant Karkare by surprise when it asked him whether he knew that the Juhu police chowkie (seaprincess end) was fully air-conditioned or not.
“By building such chowkies, the policemen want to enjoy hospitality and relax,” said Justice Patel.
The matter will come up for hearing on January 16 when the state has to file the compliance report. Mumbai Mirror had first reported in August 2007 about
illegal and sponsored police chowkies in the city.
(From left) The chowkies near Gol Deoul temple in Pydhonie (south Mumbai), outside Khar railway station and outside National College in Bandra. The chowkie near Gol Deoul temple is built right outside a shop (circled). People wanting to enter the shop have to pass through the chowkie
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------(Reproduced from the Times of India January 10, 2008 pg 5 )
Demolish illegal chowkies: Court
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Wednesday ordered the Mumbai police to demolish three of its unauthorised chowkies that had become obstructions on roads and pavements in the city. Of the three chowkies that face immediate demolition on the court’s orders, two are in Khar. The third chowkie, on V P Road, is situated right on the pavement outside a marble shop.
Hearing a public interest litigation against illegal police chowkies that pilfer power and water, a division bench of Justice J N Patel and Justice Nishita Mhatre also asked the police for a comprehensive report on such structures and a time-bound programme of action.
Taking a serious view of the fact that the government had failed to submit the report despite the court’s earlier orders, judges warned that higher-ups in government as well as the police force would be pulled up next time if the report was not placed before the court.
Khar resident I K Chhugani, who filed the PIL, told the court he had received “threats’’ from the police when he sought to highlight the problem of illegal chowkies sponsored by private parties. The court then said that “if any harm visits the petitioner, the police commissioner would be personally held responsible’’.
Chhugani reiterated that most of the beat chowkies were not constructed with government funds but were sponsored largely by local builders, who he claimed had vested interests. He said the alternative was to donate funds to the government, which could in turn construct chowkies wherever they were required.
Chhugani told the court that the issue needed to be addressed quickly as there are as many as 200 chowkies which are abandoned and from where anti-social elements operate. Chhugani alleged that one of the Khar chowkies was right in the middle of the road obstructing smooth flow of traffic and just half a kilometre from a police station and the other one outside National College actually supplied water illegally to hawkers who have encroached on the footpaths. In an affidavit, JCP Hemant Karkare had himself admitted that of the 388 police chowkies, 269 did not have any permission from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.
Curiously, the BMC’s advocate furnished a circular issued by municipal commissioner Jairaj Phatak that said that under the Development Control Regulations, operational structures constructed are permitted to come up without the corporation’s permission.
The HC, however, did not agree and said that the commissioner’s circular was not justified. “It is akin to a blank cheque to the police department to construct chowkies according to their whims, irrespective of the fact whether they obstruct vehicular or pedestrian traffic,’’ said the judges, adding, “the circular only indicates the casual manner in which the commissioner has treated the issue (of illegal chowkies)’’.
Nasreen Adenwala of Adenwala Marbles & Granites has had a police chowkie opposite her shop since 1993. The police allowed her access through the chowkie but her customers were not so lucky. With illegal chowkies under the scanner, she too decided enough was enough, as all her correspondence with the authorities to have the chowkie removed had not yielded any results. On Wednesday, her lawyer Naveen Chomal said the structure blocked not just her store but encroached on a public road and impeded traffic. He said not only was the chowkie illegal, but that Adenwala suffered losses to her business as well and ought to be compensated by the state.
toireporter@timesgroup.com
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