Residents of Campa Cola compound celebrate Supreme Court's reprieve
Over 100 families at Mumbai's Campa Cola society today celebrated as their 13-year struggle to save their illegal flats from being razed ended with the Supreme Court's eleventh hour intervention. The court also said it would consider a new plan to accommodate them. Hours before, the residents had clashed with the policemen who tore down their barricades to let in the demolition squads.
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The Supreme Court put on hold the demolition of the illegal Campa Cola flats 'until further orders', commenting, "We were badly disturbed by reports. Apart from the legal issue, the human angle is also there."
The top court said it is considering a proposal by Attorney General Goolam Vahanvati that residents who stand to lose their homes in the high-rise complex in south Mumbai, be given a building in the same society.
The court's big rescue came just as bulldozers had moved into the Campa Cola compound, tearing down barricades that desperate residents had put up.
On Tuesday, the officials disconnected water, electricity and gas supply to flats that had already been vacated by their owners and said they would keep returning every day to pursue the Supreme Court's order.
The Supreme court had earlier said that 102 illegal flats in the compound must be demolished. Earlier this year, the court had given the residents a five-month deadline to vacate, which ended on Monday.
Seven high-rises were constructed at what came to be called the Campa Cola Compound, between 1981 and 1989. The builders had permission for only five floors, but constructed several more. One of the buildings, Midtown, has 20 floors. Another building, Orchid, has 17.
The residents have been fighting a legal battle since 2000, when they first went to the Bombay High Court for water supply and regularization. The court asked the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to investigate, and the civic body served demolition notices for all flats constructed above the fifth floor.
On behalf of the Maharashtra government, the Attorney General told the top court today that there was space available in the society, and a new building could come up there if all residents agreed.
Residents and political parties had earlier asked Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan to bring an ordinance - or an executive order - to save the homes.
The Campa Cola society's battle, reflecting the housing struggles of Mumbai's middle class, has been an emotive rallying point for politicians over the years. Many of them are scrambling to take credit for the turnaround ahead of the Maharashtra polls next year.
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