Daijiworld Media Network – Mumbai

Mumbai, May 19: The Bombay High Court has issued a stern directive to Mumbai police stations, ordering strict adherence to traffic police guidelines for clearing abandoned or confiscated vehicles, saying the city’s streets cannot serve as “graveyards” for such vehicles any longer.

In an order passed on May 8, a bench of Justices G S Kulkarni and Advait Sethna emphasized the acute space crunch in Mumbai and declared that public roads and footpaths cannot be encroached upon by seized or dumped vehicles.

The court was hearing a plea filed by Marathon Maxima Co-op Housing Society, which complained about vehicles being dumped outside its gates by a nearby police station, causing serious obstructions.

While the additional commissioner of police, traffic, informed the court that a directive had already been issued to shift abandoned vehicles to designated dumping yards, the bench made it clear that mere relocation was not enough.

“Dumping vehicles at a yard is not a final solution. A continuous effort must be made to dispose of such vehicles. The government must identify appropriate sites in each civic ward for this purpose,” the bench observed.

The court warned that any violations of these orders would lead to departmental action against the concerned officers and said the traffic department’s directives “must not fall on deaf ears.”

It also noted that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has awarded a contract to a private firm to identify and scrap these abandoned vehicles.

The matter will next be heard on July 2, by which time the traffic department is expected to outline long-term measures for resolving the issue.