MUMBAI: The state urban development department has deleted the dairy reservation on the 8.5-hectare (21-acre) plot in Kurla that used to once house Mother Dairy. The notice was published on July 24, and the land will be now handed over to the Adani Group-led Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP) for housing residents ineligible for in situ rehabilitation in the Dharavi slum itself. Incidentally, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena had promised a zoological park on the land during its campaign before the BMC elections in January 2026.
Event Context
The deletion of the reservation is a major step towards starting construction on the land.
Player Focus
On June 4, 2025, Hindustan Times had carried an article on how the Mahayuti government had granted several relaxations in the utilisation of the plot. The major reliefs include allowing transfer of development rights (TDR) on the land in lieu of constructing housing for slum-dwellers and permission to develop commercial components and sell them in the open market. Nearly 2.5 hectares of the plot has already been given to MMRDA for the Metro 2B line, and this makes it a gold mine for developers.
The process of handing over the land to the DRP began two years ago in June 2024 when the proposal was cleared by the state dairy development department. Only 25% of the ready reckoner rates were charged on the grounds that the project was of “vital public importance”.
Mumbai had three dairies—Aarey, Worli and Kurla—to process milk. The Kurla dairy was later given to the National Dairy Development Board’s Mother Dairy, the Worli dairy is defunct while the Aarey dairy closed down even as Aarey Milk Colony, a city forest, is being eyed by land sharks.
Team Analysis
The plot was granted under Occupancy Class II category of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, which means that the occupant cannot sell the land or sub-lease to a third party. The plot however can be segmented and amalgamated by seeking prior permission from the state government. These conditions have now been relaxed, insiders told HT.
Apart from the Kurla dairy land, the government has already handed over plots at Mulund, Kanjur, Bhandup and Wadala to house ineligible slum dwellers in the DRP project. Mulund residents as well as Kurla residents put up a stiff resistance to this move. In fact, an MLA from the ruling Shiv Sena was vocal about preserving the Kurla plot—home to over 1,000 old trees—for environmental and local recreational reasons. However, ignoring the local pushback, the government went ahead with its plan.
At present, the Kurla dairy plot houses an employees’ housing colony, a cold storage plant, a main administrative office and other constructions. These government agencies will have to be provided with alternative accommodation.
