Residents of Campa Cola House Building Society in Worli got a six-month waiver from possible demolition of their illegal flats after the Supreme Court, on whose instruction the demolition was executed, extended the last day for eviction till May 31.
Taking suo motu cognisance of the perils faced by the residents, the bench of Justices GS Singhvi and V Gopala Gowda directed Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to stay demolition till further orders, even as Attorney General offered a permanent solution to the problem.
Appearing in court, AG said he was “disturbed” by the recent events and told the court of a proposal to construct new buildings within the society complex as under the existing building norms in Mumbai, the existing floor area ratio (FAR) was sufficient to construct new structures. Although this proposal was yet to be discussed with the State Government, AG said that this way the majesty of law could be upheld and plight of residents also be addressed.
The bench asked AG to submit the proposal by Tuesday when the court will pass further orders. The Court on February 27, 2013 had ordered residents in 102 flats situated on the 35 illegal floors constructed in the society to vacate and on October 1 extended time to vacate till November 11. On that day, Court was informed that 75 per cent of illegal occupants had evacuated.
But finding this position to be false, the bench noted that either some of the residents were adamant to move or unable to locate alternate accommodation. However, the extension of time by the Court came as a succor for the residents, who had lost all hope.