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SRA Issue

Slum Rehabilitation on Reserved Public Open Spaces was challenged in 2002 resulting in a stay on the Scheme. The case came up for final hearing on 29th August, 2013 after ten years. It was decided by the Justices that under the aegis of the Advocate General the Parties in the matter should sit together and find a solution to the issue of working out alternative rehabilitation schemes for slum dwellers currently encroaching on Reserved Public Open Spaces. Several meetings have been held and the process is continuing.

Important Orders passed by the Bombay High Court are being made available on our website for your convenience. Each Order is preceded by an abstract which will enable you to know which specific order you would like to download and print.

I) SRA matter – High Court Order Dated 31st July, 2002
The said order, passed by the Division Bench, granted interim relief by directing that no new rehabilitation scheme can be sanctioned without the permission of the Bombay High Court in respect of the open spaces which are reserved for gardens, parks, playgrounds, recreational spaces, maidans, no-development zones, pavements, roads and carriageways.
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II) SRA matter – High Court Order Dated 8th January, 2003
The said order continued the earlier interim relief granted by the Division Bench of the High Court of Bombay as on 31st July, 2002. It stated that “there is no good ground to vacate interim relief granted by the Division Bench earlier.” The Division Bench also granted interim relief that no new rehabilitation scheme be sanctioned without the permission of the Court in respect of open spaces which were reserved for gardens, parks, playgrounds, etc. The Court directed the State of Maharashtra to give inspection of records to the petitioners (i.e. CitiSpace, erstwhile constituent of NAGAR) pertaining to particulars of the plots in respect of which proposals have been sanctioned since 1998, sanctioned plans which would show the areas where the slum dwellers are sought to be rehabilitated, the buildings which are for the free sale component and the reservation for normal space.
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III)SRA matter – High Court Order Dated 29th August, 2013
The Court ordered that for an amicable solution to the competing claims of the two parties, namely acute shortage of open spaces on the one hand and 50% of the population residing in slums on the other hand can be evolved by the parties entering into a dialogue. For this purpose, the Court directed that it would be desirable if a meeting of the parties and their Counsel is convened by the learned Advocate General where other options as alternatives to the impugned policy be considered.
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IV) SRA matter – High Court Order Dated 25th July, 2014
The Court clarified that the interim order dated 31st July 2002 shall not come in the way of the State Government making any new scheme or evolving new policy in this behalf. However, any such policy or scheme shall not be implemented, unless it is placed on the record of this proceeding and for a period of four weeks from the date of placing the same on the record of this proceeding.
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V) SRA matter – High Court Order Dated 19th August, 2014
A praecipe was filed by the petitioner (i.e. CitiSpace, erstwhile constituent of NAGAR) that para 4 of the order dated 25 July 2014 be corrected to reflect the stand taken by the respondents that the policy of the State Government is to see that slum dwellers are rehabilitated in the vicinity of the land on which hutments are presently situated. The Court, hearing this matter ordered that a correction be made and words used in para 4 of the said order be substituted by “At the hearing today, Mr. Srivastav, the Secretary, Urban Development Department has submitted that the State Government would devise schemes / incentives in order to free up the encroached RG / PG open spaces, but that practical compulsions may make it difficult to completely exclude some extent of in situ rehabilitation.”
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VI) SRA matter – High Court Order Dated 4th September, 2014
The said order, passed by the Division Bench, clarifies that the directions contained in para 9 of the Bombay High Court order dated 25 July 2014 are confined to the applications under Regulation 11 (4) of the DCR only in cases where the area of open green spaces is not going to be reduced, but request is going to be made only for relocation or realignment of such green spaces.
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