Mumbai, Dec. 5 -- Sion residents issued a legal notice to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Thursday for failing to comply with an October 13 Bombay High Court directive to clear debris and garbage from a defunct cycling track on Flank Road and establish a regular cleaning mechanism for the site. Payal Shah, a member of an active citizens' group, United Societies of Sion, issued the notice on behalf of residents, warning that contempt proceedings will be initiated against the civic body if it continues to ignore the court's order. Shah had filed a PIL in the high court in September, seeking directions for the BMC to clear debris and garbage from the site, which she said was causing traffic congestion and obstructing emergency access for ambulances. She also requested that the land be restored for lawful public use as a pay-and-park facility. While the BMC earlier planned to convert a portion of the defunct cycling track into a pay-and-park facility to ease traffic congestion in the area, the proposal was scrapped in July after officials pointed out that a 2006 high court order requires a 10-metre buffer on both sides of the Tansa water pipeline to remain free of encroachments or parked vehicles. The cycling track, built in 2020, runs along the pipeline. Shah's petition argued that due to the arbitrary discontinuation of the pay-and-park facility and the incomplete cycling track project, the track had become unsafe, encroached and unhygienic, causing severe public inconvenience and traffic congestion. The termination of the track's cleaning and maintenance contract in December 2024 had led to the accumulation of waste, the PIL stated. On October 13, the high court directing the BMC to remove debris and garbage "at an early date" and to put in place a mechanism for regular cleaning. Nearly two months later, Shah claimed that the BMC had not acted on the order. "I immediately communicated the order to the civic authorities, but despite repeated reminders, no action has been taken," she said. Shah alleged that the BMC has "wilfully and knowingly" disregarded the court's directive. Her legal notice gives the civic body seven days to comply with the high court's order. Failing this, she said she will proceed with contempt action, holding the responsible officials liable for the consequences....