Nagpur: The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court on Friday blasted officials of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) and the Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) for protecting illegal constructions in the city.
The Court had also warned the concerned officials of initiating contempt proceedings in connection with misrepresentation regarding the illegal construction of the hospitals in Dhantoli, Ramdaspeth, and other localities.
“Why are these officials shielding these illegal constructions,” the court remarked orally during the hearing on Friday and also stated that the officials became adept at safeguarding illegal constructions. The remarks came during the hearing on the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) related to illegal constructions in the city before the Division Bench of Justice Nitin Sambare and Justice Abhay Mantri.
The High Court itself initiated a PIL regarding illegal constructions in the city, but hearings were postponed on the last date. During the hearing, the High Court severely criticised the officials for their actions. Be it the illegal construction of hospitals in Dhantoli, Ramdaspeth, or other parts of the city, officials from the Nagpur Municipal Corporation and Nagpur Improvement Trust have shown expertise in protecting such constructions, the court remarked orally.
The High Court questioned how these authorities could approve illegal constructions. Many petitions regarding illegal constructions in the city are pending in the High Court. Throughout the hearing of this petition, the High Court has repeatedly rebuked the officials.
Despite the court’s order, the situation regarding illegal constructions in the city did not improve. Advocate Apoorva Dey appeared as amicus curiae.