HC asks Magathane developer who withheld transit rent as plot had temple to clear dues in 4 weeks

The engineer’s affidavit noted that the second temple structure was not, however, seen in the slum plan prepared by the SRA

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Friday directed the developer of a slum rehabilitation scheme in Magathane to clear transit rent arrears of ₹1.4 crore, which have been pending due to the alleged presence of a temple structure at the site, causing a delay in constructing the free sale component building of the project.

Bombay High Court at Fort (HT archives)s (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT PHOTO)

A division bench of justice GS Kulkarni and justice Manjusha Deshpande passed the order on a bunch of petitions filed by 87 rehabilitated slum dwellers – now residents of Poinsur Magathane Jayalakshmi Cooperative Housing Society – who complained that they had not received transit rent for eight months in 2022.

The dispute arose after the rehabilitated residents approached the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) with an application for their arrears of transit rent. Inaction by the authority pushed the Magathane residents to approach the high court in January 2023. In April 2025, the Bombay High Court directed the SRA to decide the total transit rent arrears that the developer owes the rehabilitated residents.

The residents had claimed that the developer made them illegally occupy rehab buildings for which no occupancy certificates (OC) were granted. Meanwhile, the developer contended that there were two temples on the premises of the slum rehabilitation scheme, one of which was on the building line of the rehab building. This prevented authorities from granting OCs for the tenements in the rehab building.

The executive engineer of the SRA filed an affidavit before the high court, stating that there was one temple in the slum plan and had been demolished. However, another temple appeared on the layout plan after it was superimposed on the slum rehabilitation plan. The affidavit noted that the second temple structure was not, however, seen in the slum plan prepared by the SRA. The engineer further claimed that the temple structure fell within the building lines of the free sale component building, and not the rehab building, for which an OC had been issued in February 2023.

“It is thus clear that insofar as the premises of the (rehab) society are concerned, there is no Mandir (temple) or whatever in existence… In any event, the existence of these Mandirs can in no manner whatsoever be a ground for developers not to pay the transit rent,” the court said.

The court observed that the competent authority under the Maharashtra Slum Areas (Improvement, Clearance and Redevelopment) Act, 1971, had quantified the transit rent arrears at a little over ₹1.4 crore, and directed the developer to pay the transit rent within 4 weeks.