Bombay HC Orders TMC To Remove Fish Market In Thane

Thane: The Bombay High Court has directed the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) to remove a fish market that has been operating on land earmarked as a road in the 1974 Development Plan (DP). The court further instructed the civic body to ensure that compulsory open spaces are not misused for commercial purposes.

The directive came while disposing of a public interest litigation (PIL) filed in 2010 by Thane resident Pradip Chandrakant Indulkar, who alleged encroachment and unauthorised commercial activity on a private plot in Panchpakhadi, as reported by Hindustan Times.

According to the PIL, the TMC granted permission to Unit Arsen Developers (UAD) in 1982 to construct a shopping complex on land reserved for a municipal market. However, instead of handing over the complex to the civic body, the developer allegedly sold the shops and commercial spaces to third parties, violating the terms.

Indulkar claimed that when the TMC began demolishing an unauthorised shed in 2006, Congress leader and then-corporator Manoj Shinde obstructed the action, according to a report. A Right to Information (RTI) query later revealed that the shopping complex belonged to Bhadani Brothers through UAD, although no formal agreement was signed with the state government. The building houses shops on the ground floor and a hall and a bank on the upper floors.

The TMC and UAD denied the allegations, stating the land was privately owned and that the construction adhered to norms under the Urban Land Ceiling and Regulation Act, 1976. They added that parts of the land were allocated for roads, open spaces, utilities, and public services.

The bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Sandeep Marne observed that while the land was not owned by the state or TMC, the area was earmarked for a market in the DP. The court rejected the demand for the building’s handover to the TMC but found the pay-and-park facility on compulsory open space to be illegal, directing the civic commissioner to act against it, as reported.