Land encroachment in Mumbai

“When the land, which was taken over for the construction of a luxury apartment tower, has been used by a public hospital for more than 25 years, see Sion Hospital”. File | Photo credit: Emmanual Yogini

Tthe average Mumbaikar’s situation came close to that of the poor peasant in Tagore’s epic poem Dui Bigha Jomi (Two Bigha of Land), in which the poor man says to his zamindar – “O Lord, innumerable are the lands you already own, but think – I have only enough land to bury me when I am gone!”. The zamindar pushes him away and says, “Your half acre will enable me to design a beautiful fountain.” The poor peasant replies, “Spare this poor man’s land, or he will die!”

Today, the average Mumbaikar occupies two positions when it comes to land ownership. Is he from the builders’ lobby (today’s zamindars) or is he a poor Mumbaikar (today’s landless farmer) who is robbed of the only remaining Dui Bigha Jomi? Zamindari exists today in the financial capital of India. And his name is ‘Builderdari’.

Rise of the builderdari

The plight of the common Mumbaikar is worse than that of the farmer in Tagore’s poem because he has no access to a builder. He can’t even meet or talk to him to plead his case. And right under his nose he is being pushed out of his country—the country that should have been his; for the public; for millions of aam Mumbaikars.

When large tracts of mill land have been taken to build luxury shopping centers and high-rises, when gardens and recreational land have been usurped, when prime land near railway stations has been given to developers instead of being used for public good such as much-needed expansion of railway stations and bus terminals, and when excess Port Trust land is leased to builders and billionaires, where do they go? A few months ago, a prime plot of land facing the Sea Link bridge was walled off by a real estate company owned by one of India’s richest billionaires.

Very recently, this problem reached its zenith when the land, which was occupied for the construction of a luxury apartment tower, has been used for more than 25 years by a public hospital, see Sion Hospital. This was because one of the alleged builders in this case was the Guardian Minister in Mumbai.

It cannot be denied that Zion Hospital urgently needs more space and land to carry out its myriad activities which include outpatient, inpatient, medical and student activities as well as space for adequate parking and open space for patient rehabilitation. The demand for indoor beds and other facilities is so huge that the conditions in the wards of Sion Hospital, like any public hospital in the city, resemble war zone wards. Crowded corridors, two patients to one bed and overflowing IV racks and medical equipment are commonplace. And yet the above-mentioned first-class land was taken over by builders for the construction of luxury apartments.

Do these builders, their political benefactors and their rich clients (who receive first-class treatment in the city’s private hospitals) really care about the poor Mumbaikar?

This has been a recurring theme of land use in Mumbai for decades. Converting public land into private luxury residences favors the luxury of a few over the lives of millions. Chawls (which provided low-income housing to millions) and mills were converted into skyscrapers and luxury malls.

Courts must take suo moto cognizance of the matter and obtain records of all existing public land in Mumbai and suburbs and freeze any further conversion of public land. This is a step that should have been taken a long time ago. This has now become imperative to save the lives of many Mumbaikars and the life of the city itself.

Santosh Karmarkar is a pediatric surgeon and social activist based in Mumbai

Published – 06 Oct 2026 01:02 IST