Citizens’ Concerns Against Privatisation of Public Land
This white paper emerges from a brainstorming meeting organised by Moneylife Foundation on 4 October 2025 at the Mumbai Press Club, which brought together activists, urban planners, architects, researchers and concerned citizens to deliberate on the redevelopment of railway and other public lands in Mumbai. The discussion recognised the urgent need for a collective, evidence-based response to the growing trend of monetising public land under the pretext of redevelopment, infrastructure expansion or revenue generation.
Context
Mumbai’s vast tracts of public land—once the foundation for affordable housing, open spaces and social infrastructure—are rapidly shrinking. Over the past two decades, lands belonging to the mills, ports and railways have been successively diverted for commercial
development. ( https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/fare-hike-and-land-sale-two-more-nails-in-bests-coffin/articleshow/120866544.cms ) Such moves have eroded the public domain, displaced working communities and undermined the city’s environmental and social fabric.
The most recent proposal for redevelopment of railway land, including suggestions to relocate tracks underground to free surface land for “development,” represents a critical juncture. This approach, seen alongside similar monetisation efforts by other public
authorities, raises fundamental questions about who benefits from such “redevelopment”, and at what social and ecological cost.
Monetisation or sale of assets, which are essentially a transfer of rights from the public to private hands, are presented as a source of revenue for the authorities. ( https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/mumbai-news/msrtc-to-monetise-its-assets-at-prime-locations-to-overcome-financial-losses-101687115558999.html) However, as these revenue projections are typically overstated, their recovery is a challenge, and even the utilisation of the revenue is rarely for the stated purposes. Occasionally, it is claimed that
assets are not being “sold” but leased. This is misleading, since both lease and outright sale amount to the same thing: i.e. a transfer of rights, use and control of the asset from public to private hands. The revenue or benefit of such a handover is merely a justification, and the actual outcome is almost never in the public interest.
Core Principles
1. Public Land as a Public Trust
Public land must serve public purposes and must not be alienated or commodified. All public authorities are custodians or trustees, not owners, of the lands they manage. Distributing public land for commercial exploitation needs to be stopped.
2. Public Purpose and Social Equity
The government must put the land to uses that maximise public benefit. Public land must be reserved for public use. The primary goal of any development must be for essential amenities, open spaces, public housing, and public transport—rather than to maximise commercial returns.
3. Expanding, Not Shrinking, Public Land Stock
Public land is a finite resource that belongs not just to the present generation but to all future ones. The government’s duty is to protect and enhance this shared asset for social, civic, and environmental purposes — not to monetise it for short-term revenue or private gain.
4. Public Land Off the Market
Public land should not be treated as a commodity for sale. They should be taken off the market. Any development must ensure that ownership, use, control and benefits remain within the public domain.
5. Transparency and Public Participation
Decisions regarding the use or development of public land should be subject to transparent procedures and meaningful public consultation, including full disclosure of project details and independent review mechanisms.
Policy Recommendations
The current pattern of land redevelopment in Mumbai reflects fragmented governance, opaque decision-making and a lack of coordination between agencies. Development authorities operate in silos, pursuing individual revenue or commercial objectives without
a shared vision for the city’s long-term needs. This has led to unequal access to land, loss of open spaces, displacement of communities and urban designs that prioritise private gain over public welfare. The following recommendations outline the structural and policy
reforms needed to achieve these goals.
1. Adopt a Unified Public Land Policy for Maharashtra
Develop a public land policy that applies consistent principles (as listed above) to all public authorities — Railways, MMRDA, BMC, MHADA, Revenue, Forest, CIDCO, MIDC, Dairy Department, Mumbai Port Authority, SRA, etc. The policy should require:
a) Full disclosure of land parcels acquired and notified under the land ceiling act;
b) Full disclosure of land parcels under public ownership;
c) Public consultations for any plans or proposals made on these land parcels;
d) Periodic reporting to the state legislature and a designated oversight body constituted as an independent body of people’s representatives, experts and civil society members.
e) Proposals and plans to expand the available pool of public land, either through direct purchase or acquisition.
2. Public Land, Planning and Consultation
Mumbai has a “balkanised” planning system, where different public authorities carry out their own plans and projects as their own little islands. However, land use planning must be undertaken by the local planning authority irrespective of land ownership.
a) Many land parcels in the past have been given to public authorities or departments (like MbPA, NTC, Railways, Posts and Telegraph, BSNL, MTNL) or private owners for a specific use at throwaway prices or lease rents. If these lands are no longer used for the specific purposes, they should revert back to the government without compensation. ( https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/mumbai-ambedkar-memorial-indu-mill-land-transfer-deal-is-
final-2817676/ ) Under no circumstances should the various public agencies or private owners be allowed to change their use or monetise their value.
b) Furthermore, the use of the land, irrespective of land ownership, must be decided by the local planning authority (BMC) through the planning process, and not by the land owner.
c) All plans for diversion of public land or change of user must undergo a detailed cost benefit analysis, mandatory disclosure, independent oversight and public consultation.
d) Details of the proposed land uses must be clearly indicated in local development plans
e) All statutory procedures (notification, suggestions & objections period, and consultations) must be followed for any change of land use on public land.
3. Public Land Exclusively for Public Purposes
Public land is to be used for the highest public purpose, which is to create public amenities—such as affordable public or low-income housing, schools, healthcare facilities and open spaces. The land must be reserved exclusively for:
a) Publicly managed parks and playgrounds that are open to the sky
b) Publicly managed amenities for basic healthcare and education
c) Public housing / low income housing built and managed by the government based on NBCI norms for low income housing. Amenities must be based on land area per capita, and not percentage of land area.
Conclusion and Way Forward
The principles and recommendations outlined in this note are based on the elementary
distinction between public and private interests. Public authorities are not owners but
stewards of public land. A public authority’s mandate is different from the motivations of
private landlords or private developers who seek to maximise profits from the land.
Alienating public land undermines public interest, and the main consideration for public
agencies is what is best and highest public interest. Furthermore, the government must
seek to expand rather than shrink public resources.
Acting on the principles and reforms listed above will require a combination of policy
commitment, institutional coordination and public accountability. The Government of
Maharashtra can take the lead by issuing a comprehensive Public Land Policy directive
that applies uniformly to all state and city-level agencies. This policy should be
accompanied by clear disclosure norms, standardised evaluation frameworks and
mandatory consultation processes.
This white paper represents a collective effort by the undersigned activists, planners,
researchers, and citizens who share a common concern for the equitable and sustainable
use of Mumbai’s public land