BMC claimed it could not hold a meeting on December 8 due to AIADMK's leader J Jayalalithaa's death.
Bombay High Court was surprised by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's contention that it could not convene a meeting on December 8 due to AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa's death in Chennai. A stunned court then questioned the BMC counsel if all the corporators went to Tamil Nadu to mourn. The general body was to meet to grant approval for the setting up of a doppler radar system.
The BMC's general body was to meet on December 8 to discuss the proposal for sanctioning of a site in suburban Goregaon to set up the radar, which uses the Doppler effect to produce velocity data about objects at a distance.
BMC counsel S U Kamdar today informed a division bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice M S Sonak that the body, comprising corporators, could not meet due to the death of Ms Jayalalithaa and Mumbai's former Mayor Ramesh Prabhu.
The bench expressed surprise at this and asked if the corporators had gone to Tamil Nadu to mourn after Jayalalithaa's demise on the night of December 5.
Mr Kamdar told the court that the general body would now meet on Friday.
The bench was hearing a public interest litigation by advocate Atal Bihari Dubey on the heavy rains that brought Mumbai to a halt in June this year.
While there is one doppler radar system in Colaba weather station, a state government-appointed committee had recommended for setting up another system in suburban Mumbai.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had identified three sites for construction of the system, but the civic body had not granted its approval to hand over the land.
The high court had in the past come down heavily on the corporation for dragging its feet in the matter and directed the civic body to ensure that all efforts are taken to grant approval for the site.
The bench has posted the petition for further hearing on December 20.