The Bombay High Court on Tuesday remarked that Mumbai's recurring monsoon flooding is not solely the result of civic failures but is also a consequence of widespread encroachments and public disregard for civic infrastructure.

A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad made the observations while hearing petitions concerning the removal of encroachments for widening a road in a Mumbai suburb.

During the hearing, Acting Chief Justice Ghuge said that citizens should stop holding the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) entirely responsible for the city's waterlogging.

"One small spell of rain blocks the roads in Mumbai. It's our own creation. We should stop blaming the corporation," the Court observed.

The Bench noted that rampant land grabbing, blocked drainage systems and encroachments on public spaces have significantly contributed to the city's flooding problems.

"We are good at grabbing lands. We have an uncanny knack of grabbing land. We put all the dirt and material inside that. We blocked the gutters. Then we had pavement blocks. Then pavement blocks were inaugurated by people's representatives. Then they became parking lots," the Court remarked.

The judges observed that drainage lines have been obstructed, footpaths have been converted into parking spaces, and public walkways have been occupied by street vendors, making it unfair to attribute the city's flooding entirely to the municipal corporation.

"Corporation gave us drainage lines. We freed up the drainage lines. We put pavement blocks. We started parking our cars on that. Corporation gave us footpaths. We started having pav bhaji, pav masala, sabudana vada and everything. Stalls on that," the Bench said.

Referring to the area behind the High Court building, Justice Ghuge pointed out that even footpaths there have been taken over by xerox shops, tea stalls and other vendors.

"What will the corporation do? Our habit is to rob our own motherland," he observed.

The Court also criticised individuals who seek legal protection only after illegally occupying public land.

"When the corporation comes for demolition, you say give me seven days' notice. Then suddenly the law books are opened. Then you start reading the law. When you grab the land, nobody reads the law," Justice Ghuge remarked.

The Bench cautioned that unless the culture of illegal encroachments is addressed, Mumbai will continue to face severe waterlogging during every monsoon.

"So that is how things are in Mumbai. We are destined to see rainwater on the road," the Court observed.

The remarks came after the BMC informed the Court that it had already removed encroachments along the existing 30-foot-wide road, an exercise that also involved the felling of nearly 192 trees. However, the civic body submitted that the additional land required to widen the road to 50 feet belongs to the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), which functions under the Union Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).

The BMC argued that if BARC wants the road to be widened to 50 feet, it should first make the required stretch of land available free of encroachments.

Taking note of the submissions, the High Court observed that the Department of Atomic Energy should decide whether it is willing to part with the additional land needed for the road expansion.

The matter has been listed for further hearing in the last week of July