SC sets aside Bombay HC order to demolish recreational park, restore lake in Mumbai

New Delhi, May 30 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Friday set aside a 2018 Bombay High Court verdict directing the demolition of a recreational park built by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) on a site of historic Khajuria Lake at Kandivali West in Mumbai.

A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh allowed the plea of the civic body and held that while the high court was right to invoke the public trust doctrine, it failed to account for "transformed realities" on the ground and the substantial public benefits now derived from the redeveloped site.

The verdict dealt with the question whether a recreational park developed on an alleged historical water body ought to be demolished and the water body restored.

The dispute revolved around a plot formerly known as Khajuria Lake, a water body over 100 years old, which was also used for traditional Ganesh idol immersions.

In 2008, MCGM identified the land, then described as degraded and used for garbage disposal, as a place suitable for beautification under a city-wide theme park initiative.

Despite ownership lying with the state government, the MCGM proceeded with the development without formal clearance, completing the Rs 5 crore project by 2011.

The park, now a vibrant community hub with landscaped gardens and a musical fountain, came under legal scrutiny after a 2012 news report led to the filing of a PIL in the Bombay High Court, which directed the government to demolish the park and restore the lake, citing the public trust doctrine and environmental protection principles.

Writing the judgment for the bench, Justice Surya Kant acknowledged the lake's historic presence but said by the time the project began, the site no longer functioned as a viable water body.

"There cannot be a simplistic binary between a pond and a park," the judgment said while emphasising the need for "contextual environmental jurisprudence" in growing urban centres.

It said demolishing the park now would be counterproductive, causing more ecological harm by felling trees and wasting significant public investment.

The judgment also highlighted the lack of a natural catchment area, warning that a recreated pond may become a stagnant water hazard.

Importantly, the bench also criticised the delayed judicial challenge and said "Environmental grievances must be raised promptly… not after transformative changes have become entrenched." "We must acknowledge that albeit the High Court's views were well-intentioned and prima facie the correct interpretation of settled notions such as the public trust doctrine, they nonetheless warrant reconsideration through the prism of practical realities and evolved ground conditions," it said.

Referring to judgments, it said environmental jurisprudence must evolve contextually, taking into account both ecological imperatives and developmental exigencies.

"Indeed, there cannot be a simplistic binary choice between a park or a pond, as each serves distinct ecological and social functions contingent upon specific circumstances, geographical location and evolving usage patterns," it said.

Setting aside the high court verdict, it said, "The park serves as a vital recreational nucleus for children, offering safe spaces for play and physical activity; for senior citizens, providing dedicated areas for walking and social interaction; and for families, creating opportunities for community engagement and leisure." It said the restoration of the pond at this juncture would engender consequences that contravene the very environmental principles it seeks to uphold.

"The demolition would necessitate the removal of numerous trees, causing immediate environmental degradation requiring decades to remediate. Additionally, the expenditure of approximately Rs 5 crore of public funds would be rendered nugatory...,” it said.

"We are constrained to hold that the High Court's direction to restore the Subject Property to its original condition as a pond, though made with laudable intentions, fails to account for the transformed reality and the substantial public benefit derived from the current recreational space," it said.

The bench passed a slew of directions and said the existing park shall be maintained exclusively for public use, with no major commercial activity allowed.

It ordered the setting up of an expert committee within three months to identify nearby locations for developing an alternative water body.

It asked the civic body to initiate the restoration of other deteriorated water bodies city-wide within 12 months.

The bench asked the civic body to submit compliance reports in the high court every six months over a three-year period.

"That being said, at the very outset, we deem it pertinent to delineate the reasoning that informed the High Court's determination in the matter," it said. PTI SJK SJK KSS KSS