The Supreme Court has ordered a freeze on the November salary of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner Ashwini Satish Bhide and other officials over their failure to remove encroachments from government land in Mumbai’s Borivali area.
A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant initiated contempt proceedings against Bhide and issued her a show-cause notice. The court also rejected the BMC’s request for an additional 30 days to clear the land designated for a BEST bus station and imposed costs of Rs 5 lakh.
The bench expressed serious concern over delays and questioned whether civic officials were indirectly supporting the encroachers.
The dispute involves land that the Supreme Court had earlier directed the authorities to clear and hand over for public transport use.
The court warned that salaries would remain withheld until officials complied with its directions and the contempt proceedings were decided.