HC orders MMRDA to remove 462 illegal structures near Bhiwandi

Counsel for the MMRDA, advocate Mohan Tekavde, assured the court that it would take appropriate steps to ensure full compliance with the order

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court last week directed the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to remove 426 illegal structures on farmland near Bhiwandi before February 2026.

HC orders MMRDA to remove 462 illegal structures near Bhiwandi

The division bench of chief justice Alok Aradhe and justice Sandeep Marne was hearing a public interest litigation filed in 2013 by Mumbai resident Rahul Joganand.

The petitioner had come across numerous illegal constructions in Kon village, near Bhiwandi in Thane district, and learned, via applications under the Right to Information Act, that first information reports had been registered under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 against the deputy sarpanch of the village, Sunil Mhatre, in connection with the illegal structures. The MMRDA had also told Joganand that no permissions had been granted by it for construction on farmland in the village, the petition said.

Acting on the high court’s directions, the MMRDA had, in 2020, started work on surveying 18,894 structures in 60 villages in the area – 9,796 of the structures were residential houses, 3,012 were buildings and 6,086 were commercial structures.

In 14 villages where survey work had been completed, demolition notices had been issued to 6,582 structures under the provisions of MRTP Act. The MMRDA had written to the zilla parishad and gram panchayat to disconnect the water supply, and to Torrent Power and Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited to disconnect the electricity supply to these structures, it said.

The MMRDA submitted that it had received regularisation applications for 331 structures, out of which 33 applications were accepted and 133 were rejected. It had undertaken a drive to remove the unauthorised structures and only 462 such structures remained to be demolished, it told the court.

Accordingly, the court directed the MMRDA to remove the remaining 462 illegal structures and granted the planning body’s plea for police protection during eviction fearing obstruction from residents. Counsel for the MMRDA, advocate Mohan Tekavde, assured the court that it would take appropriate steps to ensure full compliance with the order.