Dharavi Project Limits Likely To Remain Unchanged As No Fresh Evidence Supports Altering Dharavi Koliwada Boundary: Sources
· Free Press Journal
Mumbai, 2 July 2026: The long-running debate over Koliwada’s inclusion in the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP) may be nearing closure, with sources indicating that no significant new documentary evidence has emerged so far to justify any change in the existing project boundary.
According to sources familiar with the matter, representations seeking exclusion of additional Koliwada area from the project have been examined by the concerned authorities. However, the documents and submissions reviewed so far have not established sufficient grounds to alter the boundaries notified by the government and reflected in the approved project framework.
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“The Dharavi project boundary has been part of successive government notifications, planning exercises and redevelopment documents. It was not determined arbitrarily and has formed the basis of the redevelopment process, including the tender documents that have been in the public domain for several years,” a source said.
Sources pointed out that the issue of Koliwada boundaries and the demand for excluding additional land from the DRP has also been tested before the judiciary in recent months. A writ petition filed by the Dharavi Koli Jamat Trust before the Bombay High Court sought exclusion of around 2,00,830 square metres of land from the notified project area, claiming these lands were traditionally used by the Koli community for fishing and allied activities. The petition also argued that the outer boundaries of Dharavi Koliwada were yet to be finalised by the Fisheries and City Survey authorities under the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966.
The petition had also challenged the handing over of possession of buildings belonging to housing societies of GRP, BEST, ONGC, AEML and MHADA to the project SPV.
In its judgment dated 18 April 2026 in Writ Petition (L) No. 12541 of 2026, a Division Bench of the Bombay High Court comprising Justice M. S. Karnik and Justice S. M. Modak dismissed the petition. The Court noted that the Gaothan area of Dharavi Koliwada, measuring 23,665.64 square metres, already stands excluded from the project under sanctioned planning proposals, and that the 3 March 2016 notification approving the Dharavi Notified Area planning proposals under the MRTP Act had attained finality and remained unchallenged.
The Bench also observed that over time, the character of the land had changed completely due to encroachments and the growth of slums. It held that the attempt to stall redevelopment at such a late stage, nearly 10 years after the 2016 notification, could not be sustained. The Court further noted that rights had already been created in favour of multiple stakeholders, including housing societies that had voluntarily handed over possession to the SPV, and said interference at this stage would be unwarranted.
Officials indicated that while all representations have been considered objectively, no conclusive documentary material has yet been produced that fundamentally challenges the existing notified limits. Any decision on boundary modification, they said, would need to be backed by legally sustainable records rather than public or political assertions.
Dharavi Project Gains Momentum As BMC Begins Relocation Process For Shahu Nagar ResidentsSources further said reopening boundary-related issues at this stage could affect planning, statutory approvals and implementation timelines of one of India’s largest urban redevelopment projects. Any boundary change would have implications for rehabilitation planning, infrastructure design, utility networks, road layouts, financial viability and overall project execution.