The Supreme Court has ruled that slum areas classified as “censused slums” under the Maharashtra Slum Areas (Improvement, Clearance, and Redevelopment) Act, 1971, do not require a separate notification for redevelopment. The court emphasized that these slums are already recognized under the Development Control Regulations (DCR), making additional bureaucratic steps unnecessary.
The case revolved around a redevelopment project in Mumbai, where occupants of a censused slum challenged the Slum Rehabilitation Authority’s (SRA) directive to vacate. The petitioners, claiming to be tenants under the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA), argued that the redevelopment needed 70% consent from residents and should fall under MHADA’s jurisdiction rather than the SRA’s.
However, the court dismissed these claims, noting that the appellants were not legal tenants but transit camp occupants relocated during the expansion of the Western Express Highway. The bench, comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and K. Vinod Chandran, pointed out that MHADA had already issued a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the SRA-led redevelopment, making further resistance baseless.
The ruling reaffirmed that redevelopment projects under the Slum Act must proceed according to Regulation 33(10) of the DCR, regardless of objections from occupants using delay tactics. The court also dismissed the claim that 70% resident approval was lacking, confirming that the required majority had already consented.
With this decision, the Supreme Court has paved the way for the slum’s redevelopment, rejecting the appeal and upholding the Bombay High Court’s prior ruling in favor of the SRA project.
