The Bombay High Court has recently expressed strong concerns about the routine disregard for its orders, reprimanding the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) for delaying a survey of eligible persons on land at Kanjur village, Bhandup West, for a slum rehabilitation project. The court stated that if SRA officers are unable to perform their duties, they should go. Justices Mahesh Sonak and Kamal Khata directed the SRA to file a detailed affidavit explaining why the survey had not been conducted, despite the High Court's order on November 18, 2022, to complete it within six months. They requested clarification on the apparent inaction between November 18, 2022, and March 2024, when the SRA claimed to have attempted a survey, and demanded the names of the officers responsible for this delay. In her submission, SRA's advocate, Simantini Mohite, stated that an attempt to conduct the survey in March was thwarted by slumdwellers, citing inadequate police protection. The court was unimpressed by this explanation. Justice Sonak remarked, Let us not mince words. If you want to do something... but you are unable to do it, then your officers are unfit to hold this post. They should go. You have accepted you are unable to do anything. You are able to receive your salary, promotions, increments, leave, official accommodation, and your car. All that you are able to do. But for what you are appointed, ‘that I can't do.' The High Court noted that Mohite, acting on instructions from SRA officials present, had virtually pleaded helplessness. The court asserted that ...no party, much less a statutory authority, can plead helplessness when it comes to compliance with court orders. Mohite argued that the situation was peculiar as it involved around 200 slumdwellers. However, Justice Sonak countered that the repeated nature of the issues meant it was no longer unusual. He stated, But now this (its orders being ignored) is routine. If it were peculiar, then we would have rejoiced... ‘ok, in one case, it has happened.' The judges remarked that this was not an isolated incident, noting that the court's orders were being ignored day after day. Justice Khata emphasised, There has to be a stop to this. And we have to bring this to a stop and we are going to bring it. The contempt petition had been filed by UVK Construction, the developer who purchased the land from its original owner in 2017. The judges observed that since then, the developer had been pursuing the SRA for a survey, and the authority had even accepted the fees. Advocates for the developer, Shashikant Surana and Madhur Surana, noted that additional orders had been issued by the additional collector and the apex grievance redressal committee to complete the survey. The judges concluded that the SRA had taken no action for several years, including the period between November 2022 and March this year, and had not even requested an extension of time. They directed that the survey be completed within four weeks and instructed the DCP (operations) for Bhandup to provide adequate police protection.