Mill land mess

The future of India's largest urban redevelopment project has been plunged into uncertainty after the Bombay High Court's decision to put on hold the National Textile Corporation's sale of surplus mill land in Mumbai.

The verdict puts in limbo not just the latest sale but other NTC sales that have been undertaken over the last three to four years. Who is to blame how much for this will be known only after the matter has been reexamined in the Supreme Court, to which it is bound to be referred.

For its part the High Court has raised two core issues on a petition filed by an environment group based in Mumbai. First, the sale of NTC mill land, the judgment said, was contrary to a Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction scheme under which the NTC was permitted to sell only one third of the land, while surrendering one third to the municipal corporation for public utilities and open spaces, and another third for public housing.

Second, construction on mill land undertaken so far has violated environment laws and virtually all the state authorities have abdicated their responsibilities and duties to implement these by allowing construction to carry on in violation of them.

The court's scathing criticism of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is hardly surprising. While sanctioning building plans, the BMC has not ensured provision of public amenities by millowners and developers; it has taken few steps to comply with environment norms; it has not ensured free housing for earlier occupants of mill land; and it has given liberal exemptions from the requirement to set aside marginal open spaces.

The court has also slammed the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority for "collusion and connivance" with builders who fabricated tenancies to secure a higher floor space index. Not surprisingly, the state government's response has been muted and it has sought to wash its hands of the matter.

While the court's views are valid, it seems that this is an instance of seeking to shut the stable door after the horse has bolted. The sales have been going on for several years now and violations have been taking place for quite some time.

If the sales are set aside now it may lead to a crisis of confidence among buyers who have won the contracts after a high-profile and transparent bidding process. If permission given over several years to develop many huge commercial complexes under a development rule is revoked overnight, then that may amount to penalising one set of people for the wrongdoing of another.

As for the NTC, the central government, under which it comes, has declared that a third of land sold in Mumbai has in fact been allocated for slum development. The government's contention is that if any further diversion of land is carried out, there will be little left for commercial development, making the entire exercise unviable.

Such a development will stop the NTC in its efforts to use the proceeds from the mill land sale to pay off statutory dues to workers and modernise itself. How much the NTC is at fault the Supreme Court will decide.

In any case, the fact that it needs the money cannot condone any wrongdoing that may have been done through the entire process. But while the NTC may deserve some sympathy, the various authorities in Mumbai deserve none. They appear to have broken any number of rules for a long time.