MUMBAI, Feb. 13 -- The Bombay High Court on Thursday rapped the civic authorities for their failure to remove encroachments on a busy Powai road, saying the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is "surrendering Mumbai to encroachers". The court also described the BMC's attempts to clear encroachments as the "Tom and Jerry show", noting the civic body's argument that encroachers removed from one place quickly reappear elsewhere. "So anyone can come and build hutments anywhere? If you can't do anything, you tell us you don't have the will, desire, means and courage to remove encroachment on the roads, so Mumbai can be surrendered to encroachers," said a division bench of Justices Ravindra V Ghuge and Abhay J Mantri. The court was hearing a petition filed by Beaumont HFSI Pre-Primary School at Hiranandani Gardens on December 22 last year, after it noticed encroachments on the footpath of the road connecting Podar School to the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR) in June 2024. It also alleged that new encroachments have sprouted in the last two months, after the corporation removed the unauthorised structures from the footpath that stretches from Powai Plaza to Galleria Shopping Mall. "These encroachments have drastically reduced the usable road width and completely blocked the footpaths, compelling pedestrians, including children and their families to walk on the main road, which poses a risk to their life and safety," the petition states. Hutment dwellers, it said, have occupied the footpath. Despite several complaints to the BMC in November 2025, it has failed to take action, prompting the school to move court through senior advocate Naushad Engineer. The school further alleged that the BMC has not only failed to act on the complaints, but has been encouraging the unauthorised hutments by supplying water, mobile toilets, and sanitisation facilities. It urged the court to direct the corporation to remove the encroachments on the road and direct the authorities to depute at least five traffic wardens and five police personnel on a 24-hour basis to ensure safety and security in the area. During the hearing on Thursday, advocate Dhruti Kapadia, appearing for the BMC, sought police protection from the court to remove the encroachments, adding that it is difficult to remove all the structures in the city. Kapadia said that when officers try to remove one encroachment, another one crops up. On the other hand, senior advocate Naushad Engineer for the petitioner school, stated that the road is used by everyone and the obligation is on the corporation to keep it clear. "If the BMC cannot ensure removal of encroachments, it should be bold to say it's not their case," he asserted. Showing its disapproval for BMC's argument, the court said, "We have seen this in hundreds of such cases. You are busy with taking things with sentiments and religious feelings. You don't have the desire to protect the main roads. Say that you're powerless. You are surrendering Mumbai to all these encroachers," the court remarked. The bench also directed the civic body to remove the portable washrooms, warning that the "responsible officers will be transferred to somewhere where they will not get water". It added, "This is all your own creation. You're staying kind to encroachers. Your submissions mean nothing to us, it's only a bundle of words and sentences. We want the encroachers to be removed and you're only giving us long speeches." The court said, "This is your last chance. Before we get angry, we will put in a lighter way, it's like the Tom and Jerry show. You remove encroachment from one side, it comes back from other side," the court remarked. "People in Mumbai cannot even drive their cars on the road now. Three-lane roads are shrunk to two lanes. Cars are moving like snails. People can walk faster."...