The fight over Jai Bhim Nagar: Whose land is it, anyway?

Settlers in Jai Bhim Nagar in Powai’s Hiranandani Gardens were forcefully evicted in June. And it’s a contentious move in more ways than one.

A tarp-covered shed on a busy sidewalk in Powai lights up every evening with the cacophony of children. The ‘sabki library’ is a makeshift after-school space for the children of Jai Bhim Nagar living on the sidewalk, where they show up diligently to study with volunteers from nearby IIT Bombay. 

The library was set up there over three months ago, soon after the Jai Bhim Nagar settlement was demolished, and its residents forcibly evicted. While many residents from the 600-odd homes have shifted elsewhere since then, about 150-200 families still live on the streets surrounding the demolished slum. “We have nowhere to go, we will stay here,” Shankar, a community member said. 

The Jai Bhim Nagar basti, located at the heart of Powai’s posh Hiranandani Gardens, was demolished by the BMC on June 6 2024. Residents claimed that they were given barely any notice before the demolition. Not only did this contravene a state law prohibiting demolitions during monsoon months, but several locals also claimed to have identification validating their residency in the area. 

Since then, they have been living on the roads around the demolished settlements, braving the rains. 28 residents, most of them from scheduled castes, have also filed a petition against the demolition, requesting a Special Investigation Team (SIT) be constituted for this. 

Most recently, based on a report by the SIT, an FIR was filed against BMC authorities, developer Hiranandani, and other associates for using fraudulent methods to demolish the settlement in the monsoon. 

The High Court has instructed the SIT to file a status report of the case by November 18th.

Evictions and the aftermath 

The eviction and ensuing demolition on June 6th was a violent affair. On June 3rd, the BMC posted notices on a public tank and water toilet in the settlement, announcing its plan to demolish the locality. This was based on a demolition order supposedly issued by the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) on May 8th. 

The demolition began on the morning of June 6th amid heavy police presence and continued until night. Residents, including women and children, who protested against it were assaulted by the police. They also alleged the presence of private bouncers who assaulted them. 

Several locals were arrested after this. Savitribai, who moved to Jai Bhim Nagar from Kolhapur nearly 25 years ago, said her son was kept in jail for 21 days like many others. Many residents lost their jobs after this. “Our children’s jobs are gone, our jobs are gone,” she said. 

Most locals in the settlement work in the surrounding Hiranandani Gardens as service workers, and did not want to leave the area. Those who could afford to, moved to settlements around Powai and Vikhroli, which are within a 2-5 km radius. However, soon after the demolition, rent prices in these nearby settlements were also jacked up, community members claimed, further cutting off options. 

Condemnable as the demolition is from a human rights perspective, it also raises questions about legitimate rights to the land here. On paper, it belongs to the Hiranandani group, but their acquisition and use of it has itself come under the scanner due to grave irregularities.


Read more: A history of the attempts at slum clearance in Mumbai


The shaky basis of evictions

Jai Bhim Nagar is populated by migrants from Maharashtra, central states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and eastern states like West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha. Several of the oldest migrants moved here 30 years ago. In fact, many of them built the first roads and towers of Hiranandani Gardens.

The settlement is on land supposedly owned by developer Hiranandani. In 2007, the builder was given permission to set it up as a temporary labour camp. However, in 2014, residents alleged that they were being intimidated to vacate the settlement. A local leader mobilised the community at the time and thwarted the eviction attempts. However, a supposed complaint at the state human rights body in 2023 restarted the pressure to evict them. 

Assistant commissioner of BMC’s S Ward Bhaskar Kasgikar, under which the settlement falls, said that the land was marked for government offices, which is why it was demolished this year. Further, he added that since the order came from the SHRC, the civic body did not have to adhere to a state Government Resolution (GR) that disallows demolitions in Mumbai during the monsoon months from June to September. 

However, the SIT constituted by the Bombay HC following the petition by residents did not find any order by the SHRC or even the complainant, based on whom the order was passed. 

An internal BMC noting from 2021 states the land as private. Currently, both BMC and Bombay High Court acknowledge the Hiranandani Group as the owner of the land. However, the builder’s hold on land in Powai has historically been contentious, considering the developer’s role in the Rs 45,000 crore Powai Area Development Scheme land scam. 

Powai’s contentious history with affordable housing

In 1977, a year after the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act was enacted, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) acquired 230 acres of land from the villages of Powai, Kopri and Tirandaz, to set up the Powai Area Development Scheme (PADS), an affordable housing scheme. These lands were owned by 19 landholders including freedom fighter Chandrabhan Sharma, Lajpatrai Varma, and others. 

In 1986, the state government and MMRDA leased the land back to the original landowners to build affordable housing under PADS. This exempted it from the provisions of the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, which restricted private individuals from holding property beyond 500 sq. m. (0.1 acres). 

The exemption was, however, given on the condition that 50% of the residential units built on the land would measure 430 sq ft per unit (40 sq m), and the remaining measure 861 sq ft per unit (80 sq m). Clearly, this was necessary to meet the original objective of providing affordable housing under the scheme.To cement this arrangement, a tripartite agreement was signed between six of the original landowners, the state government and the MMRDA. 

The six landowners subsequently gave power of attorney to Hiranandani Group and entered into a development-cum-sale agreement with the company, giving them the rights to develop the land in accordance with the tripartite agreement. 

Construction began, with the tranches of migrants employed for construction settling in Jai Bhim Nagar. However, the developer deviated from the original tripartite agreement prescribing affordable housing, obtaining permission from the MMRDA in 1989 to amalgamate smaller flats into luxury 3-4 BHKs. 

This permission, again, was given on the condition that the amalgamated flats would not exceed 15% of the total development. However, as of 2008, only 15% of the land was used for low-income housing. In fact, barring the 15% built-up area that was compulsorily required to be handed to the government, there were no other 430 sq ft tenements constructed in the complex. Instead, land that was originally intended for low-income housing saw only luxury apartments constructed. 

Skyscape of Hiranandani Gardens in Powai, Mumbai
Hiranandani Gardens today stands as a sprawling neighbourhood with posh Greco-Roman towers and shopping complexes. Pic: Sneha Gupta/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Getting away with violations

According to urban activist and professor, Hussain Indorewala, “There are various methods to do this, from the perspective of developers. The way real estate and planning works in Bombay, these possibilities are opened up through policy itself. It may happen that in the whole process, you won’t find any blatant illegalities.” 


Read more: Why ‘affordable housing’ is just a myth in Mumbai today


Speaking about the now-abolished Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act (henceforth referred to as “ULCRA”), Indorewala commented, “The act was loopholed quite a bit, which allowed a lot of developers and large landowners to escape it.” 

In the case of Hiranandani Gardens, the loophole in question lies in sections 20 and 21 of the Act. The large tracts of land were given exemption from state acquisition based on stipulations stating that the land may not be declared as excess land if: 

The land is to be utilised for the construction of dwelling units (each such dwelling unit having a plinth area not exceeding 80 square metres) for the accommodation of the weaker sections of the society, in accordance with any scheme approved by such authority as the State Government.” 

The developer continued building and selling luxury apartments through the 90s and 2000s, for which the MMRDA and BMC continued to provide completion and occupancy certificates.  

PILs filed by two individuals in 2008 brought the scam worth Rs 45,000 crore to light. Soon after, the MMRDA claimed damages of Rs 1,993 crore over the builder selling flats meant for the poor as amalgamated luxury apartments. The builder was however given a clean chit by the state-appointed arbitrator on the grounds that the MMRDA didn’t raise objections for two decades. 

Commenting on the BMC and MMRDA’s involvement in real estate development in the city, Indorewala shared, “There is a very close relationship between the planning authority and the real estate industry. Because they are so intertwined, much of the rulemaking is inclined towards the interest of developers.” 

Indorewala traces this mode of working back to the 90s, prior to which planning authorities would acquire land and either build public infrastructure on it themselves or through trusts or other not-for-profit entities. “Now, planning in this city is largely developer-driven. The implementation of planning is done by builders — for which they are provided incentives — which means that the city hopelessly relies on developers to be able to build even basic things like open spaces.” 

Speaking about the accountability of municipal and planning authorities such as the BMC and MMRDA, Indorewala commented, “The planning authority is supposed to act in the public interest. But since the public interest is dependent on the agency of the developers, we have a problem.”

The final outcome

In 2012, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) filed an FIR against Niranjan Hiranandani, senior bureaucrat TC Benjamin and others to investigate their roles in the scam. In the same year, the High Court ordered the developers to construct 1,511 flats of 861 sq ft and 1,593 flats 430 sq ft without any amalgamation, before undertaking any other construction in the township. No other penalty was ordered.

In 2014, ACB investigators filed a closure report on the scam without producing an investigation report. 

Finally in 2023, the developer was given a clean chit by the Bombay HC, allowing it to “proceed with the development of Powai Area Development Scheme (PADS) without any embargo/restrictions including regarding size of tenements”. 

It noted that the developer had completed the construction of the smaller flats in accordance with its 2012 order and handed over 128 flats of 430 sq ft and 861 sq ft each to the state government. The builders were not penalised for their actions, aside from a Rs. 3 crore fine. 

Today, Hiranandani Gardens is sprawling with posh Greco-Roman towers and shopping complexes. Jai Bhim Nagar — a stone’s throw away from the area’s upscale Galleria shopping complex — is arguably one of the only affordable housing spaces in the area, and where a majority of the neighbourhood’s informal workforce lives. But as developments unfurl, it seems all set to merge with the elite landscape around it.

Note: Jessica Jani also contributed to the story

This is the first of a two-part series. Watch out for Part 2 which will look at the possible road ahead for Jai Bhim Nagar.

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