The Bombay High Court has paved the way for the development of an 18.85-acre land parcel in Bhayander by setting aside a 2015 order issued by the Thane Collector. The earlier directive had prevented the Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation (MBMC) from processing development proposals on large land parcels in the area.
A division bench of Justices MS Karnik and SM Modak instructed the MBMC to evaluate and approve the construction plans submitted by Salasar Unique Realtors LLP in accordance with the law, without requiring a no objection certificate (NOC) from revenue authorities, including the Thane Collector.
The developer had approached the court after the MBMC declined to process its proposal on February 25, 2025, citing the 2015 restriction order. Authorities had maintained that the land in question might belong to the government, based on earlier revenue concerns.
In its petition, Salasar Unique Realtors argued that the ownership issue had already been settled decades earlier. It pointed out that an inquiry ordered in 1976 by the Konkan Division Commissioner concluded that the land did not belong to the government, and ownership records were updated accordingly.
Subsequent inquiries, including one initiated in 1993, led to further revisions, culminating in the Thane Collector’s restraining order in December 2015. However, the developer highlighted that this revision was later struck down by the Divisional Commissioner, rendering the restriction invalid.
“The letter dated December 18, 2015 was the sole ground for suspending the application requesting the planning permission,” the court said.
The bench observed that the restraining order was only a temporary measure during the pendency of the revision. Once the revision was declared not maintainable, the restriction ceased to have any legal standing. As a result, the court ruled that planning permissions could not be denied based on the outdated order.
The ruling effectively removes a long-standing hurdle, allowing the proposed development to move forward.
Source: Hindustan Times
