The Bombay High Court has raised serious concerns about the state government's plan to allocate nearly 33 acres of prime government land in the upscale Cuffe Parade and Colaba areas of South Mumbai. Justice Girish Kulkarni and Justice Aarti Sathe expressed shock over the decision to allow slum dwellers, who had encroached upon this valuable land, to form a society and appoint a developer to build rehabilitation buildings under the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA).

The court questioned whether the State Cabinet had authorized the disposal of such a vast expanse of land in this manner.

The judges pointedly remarked, "We are quite alarmed that such vast land of the ownership of the State Government can just be made available for slum redevelopment, i.e., not only rehabilitation of the slum dwellers in skyscrapers but also large scale private apartments to be constructed in one of the most prime localities in South Mumbai where land is scarce and requirement of the land for the Government can never come to an end. Mumbai city is an island city in which it is no longer possible to find government lands to be utilised for public purpose," in an order dated October 1.

The court further highlighted the importance of these sea-facing lands for government utility and other vital public purposes, noting that the SRA seems overly eager to permit the extinguishment of such valuable government property to private developers, under the pretext of slum rehabilitation.

The judges underscored the loss to public amenities such as gardens and open spaces within a city already overwhelmed by unchecked construction that deprives residents of basic humane living conditions.

They observed, "Such largesse being showered and that too free of cost on 65000 slum dwellers is detrimental to public interest and long term needs of the city. The land in question in the present proceedings is 33 acres of prime Government land situated at Cuffe Parade/Colaba in South Mumbai, which was permitted to be encroached and now sought to be privately developed under the garb of rehabilitation of the slum scheme, i.e., rehabilitation of the slum dwellers and also construction of resale buildings," emphasizing the potential misuse of the scheme.

Expressing doubts about the legitimacy of the land disposal, the court demanded clarification on whether the SRA had obtained any formal Cabinet decision or approval from the highest levels of government for this allocation, especially given that it concerned public land use.

They stressed, "This irrespective of the fact as to what the Slum Act would provide. The Slum Act in such a context can never override the basic compliance of what is expected by such constitutional principles and its strict adherence by those in authority. Thus, under the garb of any schemes under the Slum Act, such large and valuable public largesse cannot be taken away and deprived of public utility and public interest. This is a case where the rights of the slum dwellers on such prime government land cannot outweigh and/or be higher than the public interest, for such vast land to be utilised only for public/Government purpose. Such prime land cannot be permanently taken away from the public pool of lands as also been thrown open for private development, would be the moot question, certainly arising for consideration. Prima facie any other view would amount to a fraud on the Constitution," the bench underlined.

The court directed Advocate General Dr. Birendra Saraf to appear in the proceedings and asked the State Government to submit an affidavit clarifying whether any proper Cabinet decision exists regarding the disposal of the land for slum development or if any attempts were made by the Collector of Mumbai to seek approval from the government’s highest echelons.

The bench added, "If there is no such decision, we have the gravest of doubt whether any redevelopment of these slums can at all be permitted to happen, of such prime government land of 33 acres and more particularly considering the observations which are made by this Court in the aforesaid decisions as referred by us. We may also observe that the issue which has been brought to the Court is on account of a strict view of the matter being taken by the Ministry of Defence in not granting NOC for such development, as assailed in the present proceedings."

Postponing further hearing to October 15, the judges ordered the Ministry of Defence, Government of India, and the State Government’s Urban Development Department, along with the Chief Executive Officer of the SRA, to submit their respective affidavits in this matter within 10 days.

Case Detail: Gulab Shankar Mishra, Chief Promoter of Cuffe Parade SRA CHS Federation (P.) vs Slum Rehabilitation Authority (Writ Petition 2926 of 2025)