The Bombay High Court has directed the Maharashtra government to constitute a high‑level expert committee within four weeks to conduct a performance audit of the Maharashtra Slum Areas (Improvement, Clearance and Redevelopment) Act, 1971.
The ruling was passed in proceedings initiated by the High Court pursuant to a Supreme Court direction to review the on‑ground effectiveness of the law. A Division Bench of Justices GS Kulkarni and Advait Sethna today criticised the abysmal progress of slum rehabilitation and town planning in Mumbai, despite the Act being in force for over five decades.
In its verdict, the Court has asked the State to set up a committee with adequate and appropriate expertise to carry out a comprehensive review of both the law and its implementation. The Court indicated that the panel should include senior urban development bureaucrats, a representative from the Directorate of Town Planning, independent architects with experience in building construction and town planning, and public representatives who are architects with specialised knowledge in town planning.
Once constituted, the committee is to undertake a performance audit of the Slum Act and submit its report, which the State government has been told to consider and act upon.
