July 10, 2025: The Bombay High Court on Thursday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by a Mumbai-based lawyer challenging the Maharashtra government’s decision to utilise 255.9 acres of salt pan land for the rehabilitation of Project Affected Persons (PAPs) under the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP).
The bench, comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Sandeep V Marne, passed the order in response to the PIL filed by lawyer and social activist Sagar Kantilal Deore.
The land parcels in question—located between Mulund, Kanjurmarg, and Bhandup—are owned by the Central Government and are set to be handed over to Adani Realty, the firm leading the Dharavi redevelopment. The initiative aims to provide rental housing for slum dwellers who are otherwise ineligible for free housing under current norms.
In February 2024, the Maharashtra Cabinet approved a proposal requesting the Union Government to lease the salt pan land for 99 years. Deore’s petition contested the legality of two Government Resolutions (GRs) from August and September 2024, which sanctioned the land’s use for the rehabilitation of ineligible PAPs and construction under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).
He also challenged the Union Commerce Ministry’s guidelines that facilitated the land transfer, arguing the land falls within a Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) and features in the wetland inventory, making construction impermissible.
However, Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh countered that no law bars such land use, and accused the petitioner of filing the plea without adequate diligence.
The court noted that the 2024 policy revision excluded salt pan lands from the wetland category and found the PIL lacking in research and substance. Dismissing it, the judges affirmed that environmental concerns would be duly considered during project implementation.
Source: The Free Press Journal
