Bandra Reclamation Residential Project Gets BMC's Green Light Amid CRZ Dispute

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has told the Bombay High Court (HC) that it approved Adani’s residential project at Bandra Reclamation. The BMC said the land lies outside the Coastal Regulation Zone.

The BMC based its decision on a report by the Institute of Remote Sensing at Anna University, Chennai. The study was submitted by the project architect. It says that the plot is completely outside the CRZ as per the approved Coastal Zone Management Plan.

The BMC cited remarks from the Assistant Engineer (Development Plan), H-West ward, and a demarcation plan. According to the BMC affidavit, the land for the proposed residential building, Sub-Plot A and Sub-Plot B, does not fall within the CRZ line.

The affidavit was filed in response to a public interest litigation by the Bandra Reclamation Area Volunteers Organisation and activist Zoru Bathena. The PIL challenges the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation’s plan to allow private development on reclaimed land. The petition calls for stopping the project and keeping the area as green space.

Bathena’s lawyer, Tushad Kakalia, asked for more time to reply to the BMC’s claims. The court agreed. The bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Sandeep Marne gave more time for filing a rejoinder and postponed the hearing to later this month.

In a separate affidavit, Bathena claimed that the MSRDC had left out key facts. He said MSRDC signed a Construction and Development Agreement with Adani Properties and its special purpose vehicle Cavill Infraspace on September 9, 2024. The MSRDC board had approved the agreement on September 30, 2024. But this information was not mentioned in MSRDC’s affidavit filed in October 2024.

Bathena also stated that the SPV needed CRZ clearance to get environmental approval. The Environment Clearance was given on April 8, 2025, with the condition that CRZ clearance must be obtained.

Earlier in February, both the Adani Group and the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change filed affidavits. They claimed the land in Bandra Reclamation was outside the CRZ and open for development.