Bombay HC seeks to know from BMC about encroachments on King George hospital premises

In a notable observation, the Bombay High Court expressed concern about the growing encroachments within the premises of King George V Memorial Hospital in central Mumbai. The court emphasized the need to prevent a situation where the encroachments escalate to the extent that the entire facility might have to be converted into a slum scheme in the future.

The court said this was the last thing that the city needed. A division bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Kamal Khata on Wednesday (December 6) sought to know from the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), also known as BMC, if there are any unauthorised or illegal encroachments in the hospital’s compound in central Mumbai.

The bench additionally issued an interim stay on the notices served to King George V Memorial Hospital, operated by a charitable trust, pertaining to the installation of protective fencing to deter illegal encroachments. These notices, issued in December 2021 and March 2022, had instructed the removal of fences erected by the hospital trust on specific sections of its compound.

The court noted that encroachments run to a pattern and follow a trajectory. We are particularly anxious to avoid a situation where at some point in the future the encroachments become so many that we are confronted with a possible proposal to convert the whole hospital into a slum scheme, the court said.

That is absolutely the last thing that this city needs, the bench said. The court directed the municipal corporation to file its affidavit detailing what it found on the hospital premises as both the notices mention that a site inspection was carried out. In other words, we would very much like to know whether the civic body noted any unauthorized constructions or occupancies in the open spaces or only saw the mild steel fence in respect of which it has issued a notice, the court said.

In its plea, the petitioner hospital trust argued the imperative need for erecting fences, citing the continuous illegal encroachments on substantial portions of the trust and hospital land over time. The plea highlighted that open spaces within the hospital compound had been encroached upon by unauthorized occupants and trespassers, posing a threat to the safety and security of both hospital staff and patients.