The Bombay High Court has directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to submit an affidavit clarifying whether the civic body intends to proceed with redevelopment of a BMC-owned plot in Mahim under the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) scheme or retain the land as a reserved playground. The civic commissioner is expected to file an affidavit soon.

The plot in question — Plot No. 484(A) — is located at Nasserwanji Wadi in Mahim West and is exclusively reserved as a playground. Upasana Francis Fernandes, a housewife and local resident, filed a writ petition in the HC in 2023 to halt the redevelopment project under the SRA scheme. The court subsequently granted a stay on any SRA development on the land.

During the hearing on July 2, Justices GS Kulkarni and Arif S Doctor observed: “This is a case where municipal land, which has only 56 encroachers along with some municipal tenants, is sought to be developed under a slum scheme. Admittedly, as informed to us by the SRA, a slum scheme has not been approved or sanctioned.”