Mumbai: The Bombay High Court today dismissed a petition filed by the Mafatlal Industries seeking that it be granted compensation in lieu of the land that the state government had reserved for the expansion of the city zoo. A bench of Justices SC Dharamadhikari and Bharati Dangre dismissed the plea whereby Mafatlal Industries had claimed that it was the rightful leaseholder of the said plot, and thus, deserved to be compensated for the land.
The bench however, dismissed the plea after holding that it was devoid of any merits. The dispute pertains to a 58,000 sq metres plot adjoining the Veermata Jijabai Udayan Zoo at Byculla in the city. The land had been given on lease to Mafatlal Industries for 100 years. As per the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) counsel Anil Sakhre, the lease ended between 2012 and 2018. The BMC also stated that as per the Development Plan 1991, the land had been reserved for the zoo.