Two developments that preceded Earth Day last week have the Bombay High Court and environmentalists concerned. One pertains to a decision of regularising illegal structures that stood on or before December 31, 2015. The state government has bluntly told the high court that since it cannot provide homes to all, it thought of regularising illegal structures within a legal framework instead of demolishing them. The other issue is about amending Coastal Regulation Zones (CRZ) rules for allowing construction activity along the city's coastal line so that dilapidated buildings are redeveloped to give residents new homes.

The decisions demand many explanations from the government, which has not been convincing when it comes to addressing serious concerns that get buried in its adamant approach of pushing populist schemes forward. The high court has taken a tough stand as far as regularisation of unauthorised structures is concerned. The other decision of tweaking CRZ rules which is in draft stages is expected to invite citizens' suggestions and objections. We expect a conflicting opinion on this proposal – both environmentalists and targetted beneficiaries will have their say. No wonder then, if this proposal too is taken to the high court.