Babulnath Temple land lease renewed for ₹1

The temple complex is located on 5,677 sq m of land, of which 718 sq m has been leased to the Babulnath Temple Charity Trust since 1901. The renewal of the lease has been pending since 2012

MUMBAI: The state has renewed the lease on land housing a portion of the Babulnath Temple complex, one of Mumbai’s most revered temples, for a period of 30 years, for a nominal ₹1. The decision was taken at the state’s cabinet meeting on Thursday.

Mumbai, India - February 16, 2023: Rangoli made of flowers and fruits to Lord Shiva as part of the preparations for the upcoming Hindu festival of Mahashivratri, at Babulnath Temple, near Girgaon Chowpatty, Charni Road, in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, February 16, 2023. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/ Hindustan Times) (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT PHOTO)

The temple is located on 5,677 sq m of land, of which 718 sq m has been leased to the Babulnath Temple Charity Trust since 1901. The renewal of the lease has been pending since 2012.

While approving the lease renewal, the state government also waived ₹34.57 lakh sought from the trust as lease rent between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2021. The Mumbai city collector had sent a letter to the state government in February 2022 regarding the rent collection.

Since it was pending, Nitin Thakkar, a temple trustee, wrote to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis in May 2025, requesting a waiver of the rent. “The said land is used only as a path for devotees to reach the temple. The collector’s attempt is to seek the amount based on commercial use, which is not appropriate,” the letter read.

Thakkar has also requested the government to allow the land to be converted into freehold property, which would bestow ownership of the land on the trust. However, the collector, in his letter, had mentioned that the status of the said land could not be changed to “freehold” as the freehold policy allows for conversion of plots reserved only for residential, commercial and industrial use.