‘’Completely misconceived and belated bid to stall Dharavi Redevelopment Project over Koliwada boundaries’: HC rejects fisherfolk trust’s plea

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Written by: Omkar Gokhale4 min readMumbaiApr 18, 2026 10:07 PM IST Court said the petitioner's "belated" demand that development over 2 lakh square metres area in Dharavi be stalled till completion of the ongoing survey. (File Photo) Make us preferred source on Google Whatsapp twitter Facebook Reddit PRINT The Bombay High Court on Saturday dismissed a plea by a public trust of fisherfolk from Dharavi, alleging inaction by authorities for 15 years in demarcating the outer boundary of Dharavi Koliwada (fisherfolk colony) and seeking exclusion of the area from the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP). Rejecting the “without merit” writ plea, the Court said the petitioner’s “belated” demand that development over 2 lakh square metres area in Dharavi be stalled till completion of the ongoing survey and demarcation of outer boundaries of seven Koliwadas in Mumbai at par with Gaothans (old village sites) was “completely misconceived”. The HC held that with the passage of time and the manner in which Dharavi became a cluster of schemes, it was now not open for the petitioner trust to claim exclusive rights for fishing and allied activities on nearly 2 lakh square metres of area merely on the basis that the survey by the Fisheries and City Survey offices was not finalised or on the ground that in the past these lands were traditionally used for fishing and allied activities. The Court said that it was open for the Trust to pursue its representations for land records survey with authorities,”however, such a survey would hardly be of any consequence once the March 3, 2016 notification issued by the Maharashtra government has attained finality” and development as per the notification has commenced. A bench of Justices Makarand S Karnik and Shriram M Modak passed a verdict on a plea by Dharavi Koli Jamat Trust, argued through advocate Ravi R Gadagkar, which sought a direction to incorporate the excluded area as Koliwada under the Development Plan (DP) for Greater Mumbai-2034. The Court observed that while the petitioner had referred to demarcation under the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code (MLRC), “a detailed survey has already been conducted for Dharavi, in view of the proposed development of the slum in accordance with the procedure prescribed by the Slum Act.” “We are inclined to hold that the attempt on the part of the petitioner to stall the development on grounds that the outer boundaries of the Koliwada are not demarcated in terms of the procedure prescribed by the MLRC, at such a belated stage, is in the teeth of the notification dated March 3, 2016,” the HC observed. It added, “Merely because the petitioner has been making repeated representations to the authorities for demarcating the outer boundaries of the Dharavi Koliwada, in our considered view, cannot be a valid ground for grant of any relief in favour of the petitioner.” The Court observed that the petitioner was “mixing up” the issue of general demarcation of outer boundaries of seven Koliwadas with Dharavi Koliwada, for which a planning proposal has been sanctioned. The petitioner had also alleged that the lands and buildings/structures standing on ‘Koliwada’ by allottees, housing societies of government and civic employees were illegally handed over to M/s. Navbharat Mega Developers Private Limited (NMDPL), a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) formed for DRP implementation. “It is significant to note that over a period of time, the lands which the petitioner claims to have been used for traditional fishing and allied activities have already lost their character as such as the same was the subject matter of encroachments and agglomeration of slums. As a result of the demolition of the buildings which were handed over to the NMDPL, the lands became vacant and have been barricaded for development purposes. There can be no reason for the petitioner to stake a claim over these lands at this stage as this would completely frustrate the DRP,” the HC observed. Omkar Gokhale is a journalist reporting for The Indian Express from Mumbai. 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