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Synopsis

A division bench of the Bombay High Court comprising Acting Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Sandeep V Marne has directed the State Pollution Control Board, Port Trust of Mumbai, and the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai to conduct a joint meeting and file a reply in a plea against unhygienic condition caused by the fish hawkers inside and outside the Sassoon Docks at Colaba.

“We defer the hearing to 26 July for the pollution control board and respondent to file a reply.  We direct a joint meeting be held between officers of MCGM, Port Trust and State Pollution Control Board to coordinate their efforts before they file reply so that there is no conflict in their stance,” the court ordered.

Court was hearing a public interest litigation wherein the petitioner alleged that the roads of Colaba starting from the gates of Sassoon Docks right to the Mumbai Port Trust Garden have been used for fish cleaning & chopping exercises, especially prawns pealing carried out in the open areas and even on roads causing a filthy and unhygienic environment. 

Court after hearing the parties and referring the Solid Waste Management Rules about the responsibility of waste generators said, “The reading of rule would indicate that coordination between State Pollution Control Board, MCGM, and Port Trust which is the waste generator for the area within its ownership is necessary".

The plea claimed that there is a great amount of public nuisance, and serious health and environmental issues for the neighbourhood residents and the children visiting the nearby school namely the Colaba Municipal School and the Dunne’s Institute, which have reported students vomiting due to the intolerable stench and bad odour, which makes the air unbreathable. 

Further, the plea stated that the open trucks transporting the waste have been spilling the liquid on the road.“The open trucks transporting the fish waste spill over the liquid substance from the truck on the road throughout the neighbourhood, which causes intolerable stench and bad odour to permeate the entire neighbourhood,” the plea read. 

The petitioner further claimed that petitioners,time and again, brought the negligence of the statutory authorities to the knowledge of several grievance redressal forums demanding appropriate and necessary action by pointing out the relevant rules and regulations and possible solutions, however, the authorities, despite acknowledging the breaches of various statutory rules and regulations, failed to carry out their duties to date though various directions/instructions had been ordered on paper with no follow-up action.

The plea further stated that throughout the world, odour control legislation has been enacted, however, in India as a result of the absence of a proper legal framework, the statutory authorities have not been taking any steps to adopt any kind of mechanism or controlling policies to ensure the right-to-life guarantee to the citizen under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

The plea sought direction from the court for implementation of the Sassoon Dock Modernization Project, which is being implemented through the Maharashtra Fishing Development Corporation (“MFDC”), which has not been approved by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Government of India for the past several years.    

The petitioner sought compliance and implementation of the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, Greater Mumbai Cleanliness and Sanitary Bye-laws, 2006 and other statutory and regulatory provisions applicable to the cause of the Petition at Sassoon Dock, Colaba, Mumbai and the vicinity. 

The petitioner further sought the constitution of a committee headed by a former judge of the high court and experts for considering the measures which should be adopted in the Sassoon Dock Modernization Project to ensure odour control from the Sassoon Dock and monitor the implementation of the orders of the court.

Case Title: Renu Kapoor & Ors vs UOI & Ors.