MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court has dismissed a review petition, allowing the redevelopment of 141 acres of MHADA land in Goregaon West, known as Motilal Nagar. MHADA has appointed Adani Realty as the consultant and Development Agency (CDA) for the project, which is expected to be the largest housing initiative in the city.
Motilal Nagar Vikas Samiti, a resident group, filed the review petition to contest the court’s initial ruling from March 6, 2025, by Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Bharati Dangre. They sought an interim stay to prevent MHADA and the awarded developer from proceeding with the project.
In its March decision, the court allowed MHADA’s application to facilitate redevelopment through private developers’ bids and dismissed a PIL from 2013 concerning illegal constructions on the site.
The residents’ society presented three main arguments: one, they should be allowed to self-develop the premises under government policy; two, they have the right to appoint a developer of their choice according to rule 33 (5)(2) of the Development Control and Promotion Regulations (DCPR); and three, any approved development needs the consent of 51% of the society members.
MHADA’s senior counsel argued that new points were not being introduced, and that the court had already recognized MHADA’s legal rights to redevelop the property via a bidding process. The counsel also noted that the society had previously indicated a preference for MHADA to undertake the development itself.
MHADA announced that it had issued bids and selected Adani Realty as the CDA. The review petition opposing this developer’s appointment was also dismissed by the court, with the decision to follow up with a detailed order later.
Following the court’s ruling, MHADA representatives confirmed that the redevelopment projects for Motilal Nagar I, II, and III may now continue. In 2018, MHADA estimated the project cost at Rs 21,000 crore, with the developer responsible for all expenses, including transit and rehabilitation for eligible tenements, shops, and slum dwellers.
In 2013, Manjula Veeran and Tekchand Khanchandani filed two PILs with the court, requesting that MHADA and the BMC take action against extensive unauthorized constructions in Motilal Nagar I, II, and III in Goregaon West. The MHADA Colony originally accommodated 400 tenants, predominantly in row houses.
