Mumbai News: Activist Urges BMC To Form Committee To Take Over Reserved DP Road Plots From Growel's 101 Mall, Seeks Probe Into Ward Officer's Inaction

Mumbai: A Kandivali-based social activist has urged the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to form a special committee for immediate possession of the reserved plot from Growel’s 101 Mall in Kandivali (E). The activist has also urged the civic body to initiate an inquiry against assistant municipal commissioner Manish Salve for inaction in the matter for almost a year.

Kandivali’s Lokhandwala Residents’ Association has been demanding the BMC to take action against Growel’s 101 Mall for failing to hand over the reserved plots inside its premises for the construction of a 60ft road. The Free Press Journal was the first to report it and has been consistently following the matter since March 2024.

After LRA’s founder Shishir Vivekanand Shetty had served a legal notice in November 2024 to the chief minister, BMC chief and other civic officials for their failure to act against a wide range of violations carried out by the mall. These violations included illegal construction, diversion of a major nullah, non-compliance of environment clearance, lack of OC and non-compliance to hand over the reserved plots for construction of the DP road.

In a legal representation sent to the newly appointed deputy municipal commissioner (DMC) of Zone-7 Sanjay Kurhade, through Adv Rishi Bhatt, Shetty has alleged that all the departments of the civic body have failed to take any stringent steps against the mall’s violations and have only initiated inter-departmental correspondence. The activist claimed that the Storm Water Drains department has even failed to reply to the legal notice.

Shetty has requested the DMC to form a committee and direct it to forthwith take possession of the reserved plots and implement the plan of constructing the road. He also urged for an inquiry against R/South ward’s AMC Manish Salve for not taking any action against the mall even after highlighting the illegalities.

Talking to The Free Press Journal, Shetty said, “The ward officer is incompetent to even hold a joint meeting in this matter, as directed by the BMC commissioner. It has been close to six months after we sent a legal representation but there has been no action against the mall except sending notices and reminders. It clearly shows that the officials are working in the interest of the mall and not for the people.”

The Growel’s 101 Mall was shut down in March 2025 after the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) directed the authorities to disconnect the mall’s electricity and water connections for functioning without environmental clearance. The mall had filed an appeal with the Bombay High Court against MPCB’s closure notice, which was dismissed by the court, terming the violation as “extremely serious”.