A significant ruling was delivered by the Bombay High Court on Tuesday, allowing the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) to move forward with commercial development on 24 acres of reclaimed land in Bandra. The plot, originally allocated for the Bandra–Worli Sea Link project, had been at the centre of prolonged litigation after two public interest petitions sought to block its development.
The division bench, comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Sandeep Marne, held that restrictions contained in environmental clearances granted in 1999 and 2000 no longer applied. Those conditions had prohibited residential or commercial use of the reclaimed land. However, it was noted by the court that the land presently falls outside the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) under the 2019 framework, thereby rendering earlier restrictions irrelevant.
With this interpretation, the legal pathway for MSRDC and its private partner, Adani Properties, was opened. Both entities are now legally permitted to pursue their development plans. The petitions had been filed by activist Zoru Bhathena and the Bandra Reclamation Area Volunteers Organization (BRAVO), who insisted that the land had been reclaimed on the explicit assurance that it would never be commercially exploited. Particular reliance had been placed on Condition (viii) of the April 2000 clearance issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, which expressly prohibited residential and commercial use.
The court observed that the crucial question was whether restrictions tied to earlier CRZ frameworks should continue to bind the authorities even after the area was excluded from the CRZ by subsequent notifications. It was concluded that such restrictions could not survive once the land fell outside the CRZ boundaries. The judges also recorded that the 2025 clearance issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests validated the project. Arguments based on doctrines such as public trust and non-regression were found to be incapable of overriding statutory provisions.
Accordingly, it was ruled that no legal barrier existed against the MSRDC proceeding with commercial development on the land. Strong criticism was expressed by activist Bhathena, who pointed out that Mumbai already suffers from an acute shortage of open space. It was highlighted that the city has just 1.1 square metres of open area per resident, far below the recommended 10 square metres. Concerns were raised that this decision represented a loss of yet another vital public resource. It was further indicated that an appeal would be filed before the Supreme Court.
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