India, Aug. 21 -- The Bombay High Court on Tuesday expressed serious concern over inclusion of a portion of Dhobi Ghat in Mahalaxmi, used for drying clothes, in a slum redevelopment scheme, saying "valuable public lands cannot be just thrown out from the public pool to be utilised for a forced redevelopment as a part of an alleged slum scheme".

The drying area of Dhobi Ghat, measuring 7724.61 square metres (sqm), was "not inundated by slum structures", but was "traditionally used by the rassiholders as fully recognised and authorised" by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), a division bench of justices GS Kulkarni and Neela Gokhale said while hearing a petition filed by 24 'rassiholders' or washermen licensed to dry clothes, see...