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The Bombay high court on Wednesday 1st October 2025, in an interim order, observed that prime south Mumbai land—one and a half times the size of Oval Maidan—cannot be permanently taken away from the public pool of lands and “thrown open for private development” when the city was bursting with unbridled construction that deprived society of open areas—a basic requirement for humane living.

“Such largesse being showered and that too free of cost on 65,000 slum dwellers is detrimental to public interest and long-term needs of the city,” the bench added. The Slum Act can never override the basic compliance with constitutional principles and its strict adherence by those in authority, the HC observed, adding, “Prima facie any other view would amount to a fraud on the Constitution.”
The south Mumbai land was first allowed to be encroached upon and is now sought to be privately developed under the guise of a slum scheme, said the HC, observing, “This is a usual modus operandi to siphon off valuable public lands.”

The HC observed that SRA appeared “too keen for reasons best known to it to permit such vast govt land to be extinguished permanently from the pool of govt lands which could be utilised for public utilities like gardens, open spaces”.

“Mumbai city is an island city in which it is no longer possible to find govt lands to be utilised for public purposes,” the order stated. The judges said prime sea-facing land in south Mumbai is invaluable for vital and innumerable public purposes.
The HC directed the Maharashtra govt to file an affidavit and state if the Cabinet took any well-considered decision to allot such a large land area for slum redevelopment. Also, the state must inform if the collector made efforts to obtain a decision from the state at its highest level.
The HC said if no such decision was taken, it had the gravest doubt whether any redevelopment of the slums could at all be permitted there, on such a prime plot, given the paucity of space for vital public amenities.
The HC said the defence ministry needs to be heard in the matter and scheduled the next hearing on Oct 15. The HC sought the state advocate general’s assistance in the matter. It directed the ministry of defence, state revenue and urban development departments, as well as the chief executive officer, SRA, to file affidavits in reply in 10 days.

The HC further said “apart from NOC and the location,” the defence ministry’s concern over the land being near its establishments would also be quite significant.
“We are quite alarmed that such vast land of state can just be made available for slum redevelopment, to not only rehabilitate slum dwellers in skyscrapers but also large-scale private apartments to be constructed in one of the most prime localities in south Mumbai where land is scarce and requirement of the land for the govt can never come to an end,” said the HC. “We need not delve as to what would be the cost of each unit in an area like Colaba/Cuffe Parade. The value of the land and any development just needs to be imagined,” it added.
The petition said 65,000 slum dwellers have been languishing since over two decades.