Mumbai rains: Court slams civic body

The Bombay high court on Wednesday came down heavily on the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai for its failure to tackle flooding of low-lying areas due to heavy rains in the city on Tuesday.

The court asked the civic body to explain why action should not be taken against contractors in view of bad conditions of roads.

Hearing a public interest litigation, the court asked the civic body to file an affidavit stating what action it was contemplating against such errant contractors.

The court also observed that nothing much seemed to have been done with regard to long-term planning.

The court was hearing a PIL filed in 2005 that sought implementation of a report on disposal of drain water during monsoon.

The court also asked the western railways to file an affidavit as to what measures they were taking to avoid water logging on railway tracks.

Counsel for the civic body told the court that it had taken steps to prevent flooding of low-lying areas.

Justice R M Lodha observed, "We appreciate your efforts but perhaps you have failed to adopt long-term planning measures which is why the situation was bad yesterday".

Heavy rains in Mumbai are an annual feature and to tackle the monsoon fury the authorities have to undertake long-term planning measures, he observed.