Mumbai’s Metro Line 6 project has reached 88 per cent physical completion, but three unresolved land acquisition issues continue to hold up work along the corridor. Authorities are targeting a 2027 opening, but some portions of the projects are pending due to land-related disputes.
As per a report by the Indian Express, land acquisition has been going on for the last three years. The three pending sites are the proposed Shyam Nagar metro station in Jogeshwari, an incomplete viaduct section at the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR) and Eastern Express Highway (EEH) junction in Kanjurmarg, and the planned Metro Line 6 depot at Kanjurmarg.
At Shyam Nagar, the viaduct and platform structures have already been built, but construction has not started because land acquisition approvals are still pending. The issue is that the required plot was located in a no-development zone (NDZ). The authority recently started acquisition under Section 32 of the MMRDA Act, 1974.
In late April, the proposal was sent to the state government and is currently in the final stages of approval. The authority is waiting for a notification from the Urban Development Department. The plot is also occupied by slums. These encroachments will need to be removed before construction work can begin.
The second block is at the JVLR-EEH junction in Kanjurmarg, where a section of the metro viaduct remains unfinished. The project requires around 1,700 square metres of land to build eight pillars that will support an important curve in the metro alignment. The land has been tied up in legal disputes for decades.
The plot was owned by the state and leased to Jolly Board Private Limited. Over the years, multiple ownership disputes emerged. In 1997, a court ordered a status quo on the land. The order prevented any development activity until the ownership issue was resolved.
Despite the ongoing litigation, the MMRDA spent nearly two years obtaining administrative permissions. In May, the authority received advance possession of the land from the state revenue department.
The permission came with a condition that no action should violate existing court orders. To move ahead with the project, the authority has approached the court seeking permission to start construction while the ownership dispute continues. It has requested that the infrastructure project should not remain stalled while the legal case continues.
The third challenge is the proposed Metro Line 6 depot at Kanjurmarg. The ownership dispute between the state government, the central government and a private developer over the Kanjurmarg salt-pan land was resolved in March this year. But the MMRDA has not yet received physical possession of the land from the central government.
As a result, work on the depot has not started. But earlier this year, MMRDA reported that this will not prevent Metro Line 6 from beginning operations. The authority plans to use stabilising lines for basic maintenance and cleaning work directly on the tracks.
However, officials acknowledged that this temporary arrangement could reduce operational efficiency and lead to longer waiting times between trains. Despite the pending land issues, MMRDA officials said the project remains on schedule.