Mumbai News: BMC Backs Adani's Bandra Reclamation Project, Says Plot Outside CRZ; Petitioner Alleges MSRDC Suppressed Facts

Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has told the Bombay High Court that it granted sanction for the construction of a residential building by Adani on a plot at Bandra Reclamation as the site falls outside the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ).

BMC Approves Adani Project Citing Site Is Outside Coastal Regulation Zone

The BMC said it relied on a report prepared by the Institute of Remote Sensing, Anna University, Chennai, submitted by the project architect. The report concluded that the site is “fully outside CRZ as per approved CZMP.”

“The project site namely Sub-Plot A and Sub-plot B, whereupon residential development is proposed, falls outside the CRZ line,” the BMC stated in its affidavit citing supporting remarks from the Assistant Engineer (Development Plan), H-West ward, and a demarcation plan.

Activist Challenges BMC’s Claim, Cites MSRDC’s Own Reports and EC Conditions

The affidavit was filed in response to a PIL by activist Zoru Bathena and the Bandra Reclamation Area Volunteers Organisation (BRAVO), challenging the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation’s (MSRDC) plan to allow private development on reclaimed land. The petition seeks a stay on the project and restoration of the land as a green space, citing violations of CRZ norms.

Bathena’s lawyer Tushad Kakalia has sought time to file a rejoinder to BMC’s affidavit.

High Court Grants Time for Rejoinder as PIL Seeks Stay on Project

A bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Sandeep Marne granted time to Kakalia and kept the matter for further hearing later this month.

Meanwhile, in an additional affidavit, Bathena alleged that MSRDC had suppressed crucial facts. He pointed out that although MSRDC’s affidavit in October 2024 made no mention of it, its Board had already approved a Construction and Development Agreement (C&DA) with Adani Properties Pvt Ltd and its special purpose vehicle Cavill Infraspace Pvt Ltd on September 30, 2024. The agreement was executed on October 9, 2024.

Bathena also highlighted that the Environmental Clearance (EC) granted to the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) on April 8, 2025, specifically required CRZ clearance. “The said EC has been granted on the specific condition that the SPV is to obtain necessary CRZ clearance,” the affidavit stated.

Further, he annexed MSRDC’s own six-monthly monitoring reports to the environment ministry as recent as July 2024, which were filed under CRZ-related conditions for the Bandra-Worli Sea Link project. “This clearly demonstrates that the land continues to fall under the CRZ regulations,” Bathena said.

Earlier in February, separate affidavits were filed by the Adani Group and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEFCC) contending that the proposed development on a plot of land at Bandra Reclamation is outside the CRZ and hence free for development.

Bandra Reclamation Project: Adani Group, MOEFCC Assert Land Is Outside CRZ, Defend Development In Bombay HC

Adani Group Won Contract for 28 Acres in MSRDC’s Bandra Reclamation Tender

MSRDC issued a tender in January 2024 for the development of a 57-acre parcel, of which 29 acres are reserved for social amenities, roads, and gardens, while 28 acres are available for development. Adani, as the highest bidder, received the contract in March 2024.