The Bombay Excessive Courtroom on February 9 ordered that development of a transit camp on a land parcel in Worli be “instantly stopped” and there shall be no work until additional orders.
The HC noticed that the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) had allowed the development of transit buildings regardless of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Company letters stating that the mentioned land was reserved for a sewage remedy plant (STP).
The court docket directed the chief government officer of the SRA to think about the suspension of the engineers inside every week for allegedly suppressing important communications/objections obtained from a high-level officer of BMC.
The HC clarified that the pendency of the plea by the developer wouldn’t hinder or put an embargo on police authorities from endeavor an expeditious probe into SRA lapses and the FIR within the current matter and take motion towards these concerned.
A bench of Justices Girish S Kulkarni and Aarti A Sathe on February 9 handed an order on a plea by Worli City Improvement Venture LLP (previously referred to as Lokhandwala DB Realty LLP) towards the December 26, 2025, cease work discover issued by the SRA beneath the Maharashtra City Planning (MRTP) Act.
The petitioner had undertaken a undertaking on the Worli land to rehabilitate slum dwellers of Jeejamata Cooperative Housing Society (CHS), Shree Vivekananda Nagar CHS, Veer Jeejamata Nagar CHS, and Mata Ramabai Nagar CHS.
‘Very disturbing details have come to gentle’
The bench noticed, “some very disturbing details have come to gentle” within the current matter, which transpired earlier than the issuance of the impugned stop-work discover.
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It additionally expressed “very critical doubt” as as to if SRA Deputy Chief Engineer Rama Mitkar and Government Engineer DB Patil have “in any respect acted and discharged their duties as public servants can be anticipated to discharge.”
The court docket additionally ‘prima facie’ noticed there gave the impression to be a “systematic design” to favour the developer.
The HC famous that BMC’s Chief Engineer (Improvement Plan) had written a letter on December 26, 2024, objecting to SRA’s transit camp. It cited the demolition of the compound wall between the SRA undertaking and land reserved for STP and mentioned piling work was being carried out by the developer on a vacant plot close to the wall. The BMC apprehended encroachment on the STP land with out intervention.
The HC famous that regardless of BMC objections, the SRA authorized seven transit buildings on April 11, 2025, and the identical adopted a March 2025 stop-work discover to the developer. “This was and not using a whisper of reference” to BMC’s claims, and the identical was “eye wash and solely definitely worth the paper,” the court docket added.
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On June 27, 2025, BMC wrote to SRA’s deputy chief engineer looking for plot demarcation and early handover of the vacant a part of land reserved for the STP undertaking.
The developer approached HC after SRA’s December 26, 2025, stop-work discover for “illegally endeavor development of rehabilitation constructing.”
“Issues are actually getting murkier within the current proceedings,” the bench mentioned, noting SRA’s non-response to BMC letters. “This extra notably, when it’s a matter of widespread data that these transit camps live on for years collectively, as they might all the time stay occupied phase-wise by induction of the slum dwellers even after the preliminary inductees vacate the identical and until such giant slum undertaking is full, prima facie, the modus operandi of the officers in league with the petitioners seems to be clear to deprive the BMC of the general public reservation of the mentioned land for the enlargement of the STP plant,” the HC noticed.
The court docket permitted the petitioner to hold out expeditious demolition of the partly constructed transit camp and sought clearance of one of many buildings in an expeditious method.
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It additionally directed the state and BMC to file affidavits on whether or not the housing division legally diminished the bigger space of 27,964.04 sq. metres initially demarcated for the enlargement of the STP plant to 17, 756,40 sq. metres.
The Excessive Courtroom will hear the plea subsequent on February 23.
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