Adani Realty has revived plans to develop a 20-acre greenfield residential township on the former Khatau Mill land in Borivali (East), Mumbai, after a recent Supreme Court ruling eased regulatory hurdles for projects near eco-sensitive zones.

The project, stalled for months due to a National Green Tribunal order mandating Central-level clearances, will now move forward with state approvals, marking one of the developer’s largest greenfield ventures in the city.

The project planning and design process started around two years ago.  However, the project went into limbo like several others after the 2024 National Green Tribunal (NGT) ruling that said large-scale real estate projects within a 5-km radius of ecologically-sensitive zones such as forests or mangroves need environmental clearance from the central government. This led to confusion and delays for developers.

In August, the regulatory hurdle was removed when a Supreme Court judgment allowed state authorities to resume environmental impact assessment of real estate projects in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Pune. The ruling removed the NGT-ordered approval process, allowing projects to go back to securing regular state clearances.

The ruling came after industry body Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India-Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry (Credai-MCHI) filed a writ petition, with interventions from Credai National and Godrej Properties Ltd.

“Adani’s Borivali project is in the vicinity of a national park which is an eco-sensitive area. Due to the regulatory ambiguity, the project was put on the back burner. The developer has resumed work on the project plan and will apply for approvals soon,” said the first of the two person cited earlier, both of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Adani Realty’s project is one of the many that were stalled or delayed due to the legal proceedings. Adani plans to build three- and four-bedroom apartments priced at ₹3.5-5 crore in the project.

“It was one of the key greenfield projects that was impacted. Now, once the approvals come in, the project will be launched in phases. This will be one of the larger greenfield projects of the group, which has a number of redevelopment projects in the city,” said the second person.

Adani Realty is a joint venture partner with Mumbai-based Marathon Group in a premium residential project named Monte South, located on the 12-acre Khatau Mill compound in the central Mumbai locality of Byculla.

Until now, Adani Realty has been developing projects in Ahmedabad, Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), National Capital Region (NCR) and Pune. However, it is Mumbai, the country’s most valuable property market, which has steadily become its core real estate-focused geography.