MbPA to auction 18 Sassoon Dock godowns after takeover

The godowns were sealed by MbPA, which also took possession of them last week. The port authority says the warehouses will continue to be used for fish trading and related activities, but it aims to finally generate revenue from properties that have long incurred losses of nearly ₹120 crore

MUMBAI: The Mumbai Port Authority (MbPA) will auction 18 sealed warehouses at Sassoon Dock, marking a major shift after months of conflict with the fishing community.

Mumbai, India - July 4, 2025:Godown at Sassoon Dock, at Colaba in Mumbai, India, on Friday, July 4, 2025. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

The godowns were sealed by MbPA, which also took possession of them last week. The port authority says the warehouses will continue to be used for fish trading and related activities, but it aims to finally generate revenue from properties that have long incurred losses of nearly ₹120 crore.

The auction will be conducted at rates “approximately 40% less than the Ready Reckoner rate”, an MbPA official said, adding that the proposed lease rent would be around ₹55 per sq ft, compared to the ₹90 per sq ft in the locality, according to the Ready Reckoner. The 40% concession was to support fishing activity, the official added.

Tensions escalated last Thursday when MbPA officials, accompanied by police, entered Sassoon Dock and took control of the 18 warehouses, evicting hundreds of workers who process the daily catch. The premises were then shut and sealed.

“We are in the process of cleaning the godowns,” an MbPA official told HT. “We want to allocate those godowns on rent through a transparent tendering procedure. We will use them for fish trading.”

The MbPA official added that the auction would be based on a threshold price. “At present, we do not get a single penny, but we aim to get good revenue out of this. Since they will be leased, they will no longer be unauthorised. The godowns have 50 people each operating who were illegal,” the official claimed.

The new leases after the auction will be issued for five or ten years.

The move follows a protracted dispute over rental arrears. MbPA owns around 60 warehouses at Sassoon Dock and had originally leased them to the Maharashtra State Fisheries Development Corporation (MFDC), which in turn sub-let them to the fishing community. These units are essential for processing seafood immediately after the catch is brought ashore.

The sudden shutdown has raised alarm over its potential economic impact. Fishermen allege that thousands of workers, including nearly 3,000 women who peel prawns and process other seafood, have lost their livelihoods. Without access to the warehouses, the daily sorting and processing of fish is disrupted, threatening the broader seafood supply chain that sustains nearly 2 lakh people. Sassoon Dock receives about 150 tonnes of fresh catch every day and has a turnover of ₹4 crore, with the processed fish supplying markets, restaurants, retailers and exporters across Mumbai.