India, Oct. 23 -- The Bombay High Court on Thursday warned that the right of slum dwellers in Mumbai to permanent alternate accommodation would be forfeited if they were found dumping garbage in public places, in violation of the court's order for maintaining public hygiene.

"This is a serious issue in Mumbai. Citizens think they can encroach on any land parcel, they will dirty the public places and will not coordinate with the civic body. They will threaten civic officials and the police," said the division bench of justices GS Kulkarni and Dr Neela Gokhale.

"What attitude is this," the judges asked. "People are resisting even basic cleanliness. This isn't acceptable at all. For slums, we will get their right to a permanent alternate a...