SGNP's ecological benefits greater than BMC budget: HC

Court was hearing a petition alleging violation of earlier orders regarding the phased rehabilitation of slum dwellers within park limits

- Prateem Rohanekar

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Friday said that if the ecological benefits accruing from Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) were to be monetised, they would surpass the budget of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the richest civic body in the country.

"No one sitting in this court can let this go," the division bench of chief justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and justice Amit Borkar said, while hearing the Conservation Action Trust's petition alleging violation of earlier orders of the court pertaining to the phased rehabilitation of slum dwellers residing within national park limits. The petition also alleged that a slew of ongoing projects posed a threat to the park's existence.