The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) will set up 13 night shelters in the city in which around 500 children of homeless people and pavement dwellers will be kept, the civic body today informed the Bombay High Court.
MCGM, in an affidavit submitted before a division bench of Justices A S Oka and C V Bhadang, said initially 13 shelters will be constructed in different parts of the city in which 500 children will be accommodated during night time.
The court was of the view that if policy permits, then some temporary structures can be set up under flyovers and homeless children can be accommodated there too. The HC was hearing a public interest litigation filed by NGO ‘Homeless Collective’ highlighting the plight of pavement dwellers. The petition has sought directions to the civic and state authorities to identify homeless persons and ensure adequate night shelters for them.
The PIL contended that for every one lakh population in a city, there should be one night shelter as per National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM). According to that norm, Mumbai should have 207 shelters. However, only nine night shelters are operating at the moment as opposed to the 25 that were promised in 2012, it said.
