Reclaimed land along Mumbai coastal road must remain open to public, no commercial development: SC

New Delhi, The Supreme Court on Monday stressed that the reclaimed land along the Mumbai Coastal Road (South), including areas proposed to be landscaped by Reliance Industries under a corporate social responsibility initiative, must ordinarily remain open to the public, while it barred any residential or commercial development.

The observations were made by a bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and Atul S Chandurkar while disposing of a PIL filed by Jipnesh Narendra Jain challenging the Expression of Interest (EoI) of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for engaging private agencies in landscaping and long-term maintenance work on the reclaimed coastal land.

"The land reclaimed should not be utilised for any residential or commercial development /purposes, presently or at any time in the future," it said, noting that its September 30, 2022, order also stated this.


The bench said, "Be that as it may, the subject area shall ordinarily remain open for the public, except to the extent any development or maintenance work in particular places is required."

The Dharmaveer Swarajyarakshak Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Mumbai Coastal Road (South), which is given for development through corporate social responsibility, shall ordinarily remain open for the public, except particular places where some extra developments are required and if some maintenance is required in future, it added.

The bench noted that its earlier order of September 30, 2022, which permitted development activities such as landscaping of the seaside promenade and road medians as part of the coastal road project, had already addressed the petitioner's concerns.

That order categorically barred any residential or commercial use of the reclaimed land, stating that it "should not be utilised for any residential or commercial development/purposes, presently or at any time in the future".

The PIL challenged the EoI of December 19, 2024, issued by the BMC for the appointment of a "Volunteer Agency" for the development and long-term maintenance of landscaping, gardens and the promenade along the Mumbai Coastal Road (South).

The petition sought quashing of any decision appointing Reliance Industries Limited or Reliance Foundation as the volunteer agency.