In a setback for the Maharashtra government, the Bombay High Court imposed a status quo on Thursday, ordering authorities not to modify the character of a 15-hectare land in Kanjurmarg handed by the Mumbai collector to MMRDA for the construction of a car shed for Metro Line 6. The Mumbai Metro Line 6 connects Swami Samarth Nagar, Jogeshwari, and Vikhroli to Kanjurmarg.
This month, the central government filed a petition with the High Court through the Salt Pan Commission. The Centre opposed a Mumbai collector’s order on April 17, 2023, to transfer the site to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). The Centre’s contention, as argued by Additional Solicitor General Devang Vyas and attorney D P Singh, was that the Centre owned the property as salt pan land and was part of the Arthur Salt Works at the Bhandup salt factory.
The HC noted that in an earlier round of litigation, the collector’s land allotment to MMRDA was removed. On October 1, 2020, the Mumbai collector granted MMRDA the site for a metro car shed. The Centre petitioned the HC to oppose the assignment, saying that the land was not the state’s to allot. Maheshkumar Goradia also disputed the allotment.
Garodia is a private party whose predecessor was the Centre’s tenant for 99 years. However, in November 2004, the salt department prematurely cancelled the lease, claiming Garodia’s violations of its terms, according to the ASG. The lease expired in 2016, and litigation has been underway since then.
According to Garodia’s ASG and senior counsel, Aspi Chinoy, the state’s 2016 land plea is still ongoing. Both claimed that even last year, the collector never gave the Centre or Garodia the opportunity to be heard first.
Source: The Times of India
