Mumbai: In a major case of government land encroachment, the Pant Nagar police have registered a case against the directors of Aryaman Developers for allegedly occupying over 5,000 square meters of government land in Ghatkopar (East), which is part of a state-approved slum redevelopment and infrastructure project.
According to the FIR, directors Sameer Nagda, Darshan Dhami, project manager Ashish, and other staff members of Aryaman Developers face serious charges for unauthorized construction activity on land earmarked for the Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar and Kamaraj Nagar redevelopment, and the proposed Eastern Express Highway-Thane connector project
.The complaint was lodged by Dattatraya Bapuso Patil, 57, an Executive Engineer deputed to the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA). Patil revealed that the redevelopment plan, covering 3,18,262 square meters (approximately 80 acres), was officially approved by the government on September 21, 2023.
A joint partnership agreement between the SRA and MMRDA was signed on February 27, 2024, outlining the development of survey numbers 194B (Part), 194A (Part), and 195 (Part), which includes relocation and compensation for over 16,400 slum dwellers.
In the first phase alone, 4,053 structures were cleared and Rs137 crore in rental compensation was disbursed. The vacated land was then fenced and reserved for future development under MMRDA’s supervision. Patil, serving as the nodal officer for both MMRDA and SRA, was overseeing this process.
Adjacent to this government land, Aryaman Developers is carrying out a separate SRA-sanctioned project for the rehabilitation of slum residents under the Sant Namdev Co-operative Housing Society. The developer allegedly encroached upon a parallel stretch into cleared government land (Survey No. 194B), where SRA had already completed evictions and clear the space.
Authorities report that, on July 26, Assistant Engineer Amol Salunkhe of SRA informed Patil that Aryaman Developers’ directors and project manager, accompanied by 150 workers, 30 bouncers, four JCB machines, welding equipment, and four trucks, began erecting a new compound wall by extending their boundary into the adjacent government-cleared zone.

A field inspection by Patil confirmed that the developers had illegally occupied a stretch approximately 11 meters wide and 350 meters long—amounting to 5,000 square meters of government land. This land had already been cleared of slum dwellings and handed over to the MMRDA, with a Letter of Intent for development issued on September 6, 2024.
Following this discovery, a formal complaint was lodged at the Pantnagar Police Station. The case has been filed under Sections 189(2) and 329(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act, Section 52 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, and Sections 135 and 37(1) of the Maharashtra Police Act.
Authorities are continuing their investigation into the illegal construction. Further action against the developers is likely as the matter unfolds.