Plea before Bombay High Court seeks allotment of 100 acres in Goregaon for new HC building

A plea has been filed before Bombay High Court seeking allotment of 100 acres of vacant land in Mumbai's Goregaon for the new High Court complex. [Ahmed Abdi v. State of Maharashtra & Ors.].The plea has been filed days after the High Court itself suggested that the Maharashtra government should explore land availability at Goregaon for the building.A division bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice AS Doctor had on April 12 asked the Maharashtra government to explore land availability at Goregaon for the new High Court complex and to provide a rough sketch of accessibility from the proposed coastal road.This observation was made despite the considerable progress being made to start the project for the new High Court building at Bandra.30.16 acres of land in Bandra has been already allotted by the State for the construction of a new building for the High Court.The State government had informed the Court last year that a memorandum has been signed with the public works department (PWD) for this purpose.However, the present plea by Ahmed Abdi, a Mumbai lawyer, has now claimed that despite the allotment orders, the State government has failed to take steps towards the construction of the new building at Bandra or for handing over possession of the land there to the High Court administration..The application highlighted that the present structure of the heritage building could cause danger to human life. .The applicant claimed that more than 500 acres of vacant land is available in Goregaon free from all encumbrances. "The said land can be immediately allocation and construction for the High Court complex can be started on immediate bias. The same can be used definitely used for construction of staff quarter for employees of High Court", the application stated. .The application was filed in a contempt of court case already pending before the Court claiming the State government failed to comply with the High Court order of January 2019 by which it had directed the government to offer a large and convenient plot of land for the new High Court complex.