HC clears decks for development of 18.85 acres in Bhayander

A division bench of justices MS Karnik and SM Modak on Friday ordered the MBMC to process and sanction Salasar Unique Realtors’ construction plans in accordance with law, without insisting on a no objection certificate (NOC) from revenue authorities including the Thane Collector

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court has struck down a 2015 order issued by the Thane Collector restraining the Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation (MBMC) from processing partnership firm Salasar Unique Realtors LLP’s plans to develop an 18.85-acre land parcel in Bhayander.

HC clears decks for development of 18.85 acres in Bhayander

A division bench of justices MS Karnik and SM Modak on Friday ordered the MBMC to process and sanction Salasar Unique Realtors’ construction plans in accordance with law, without insisting on a no objection certificate (NOC) from revenue authorities including the Thane Collector.

The developer had approached the high court after the MBMC, on February 25, 2025, refused to process its plans for developing the 18.85-acre property. The MBMC said that the Thane Collector had, on December 18, 2015, issued an order restraining the civic body from granting planning permissions to develop large tracts of land in Bhayander including the property in question, as revenue authorities believed that land belonged to the government.

In its petition before the high court, Salasar Unique Realtors, which own 15,490-square metres of the property and has obtained development rights for the rest from RNA Corp Private Limited, pointed out that the Commissioner, Konkan Division, had way back in January 1976 ordered an inquiry as regards the ownership of land in Bhayander. An assistant Collector in Thane had concluded that no part of the Bhayander land belonged to the government, and accordingly names of then owners of the land were mutated in revenue records, the developer said.

In 1993, after the then owners obtained sanction for a scheme under the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, the Sub-Divisional Officer on his own initiated an inquiry into the ownership of the same land parcels, leading to a further revision of entries in 2015. In December 2015, the Thane Collector issued a restraining order, which continued to be in force even though the Commissioner, Konkan division struck down the revision, holding it was not maintenable, the petition said.

The division bench said the restraining order was a temporary measure during pendency of the revision and it became inconsequential after the revision itself was held not-maintenable.

“The letter dated December 18, 2015 was the sole ground for suspending the application requesting the planning permission,” the court said. Once this pro-tem measure came to an end by virtue of the Divisional Commissioner’s order, the restraint became non-existent and therefore planning permissions could not have been denied to the construction firm based on it, the court ruled.