Piramal and Mafatlal Builders Accused in Land Scam.

Unmesh Gujarathi
Sprouts News Exclusive
Contact: +91 9322755098

The Sprouts News Special Investigation Team exposes how Piramal and Mafatlal builders, in alleged collusion with top Mumbai officials, delayed court-mandated revival of a 10,000-spindle mill on government land. Despite Supreme Court orders, the mill remains shut, denying thousands of workers employment and enabling potential real estate misuse worth crores.

In a startling expose, the Sprouts News Special Investigation Team has uncovered a deeply entrenched nexus between prominent real estate developers—Piramal Realty and Mafatlal Industries Ltd.—and top bureaucrats in Mumbai’s Collectorate, Revenue Department, Labour Ministry, and BMC. Their alleged collaboration has stalled the court-directed revival of the iconic Mafatlal Mill on government land, denying thousands of workers long-overdue employment and allowing illegal real estate profiteering to flourish.

The land in question—CTS No. 593, Mazgaon—was earmarked under BIFR (Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction) guidelines for restarting a 10,000-spindle textile unit, a promise enshrined in multiple court orders. Yet, despite rulings by the Bombay High Court and later the Supreme Court, not a single spindle has turned. Instead, plans appear underway to convert this public asset into a private goldmine.

The apex court’s verdict on 12 July 2024 in SLP (Civil) No. 9859-9860/2024 categorically dismissed appeals by Glider Buildcon LLP—a real estate arm allegedly aligned with Mafatlal—and reaffirmed the Bombay High Court’s directive that the land be used exclusively for industrial purposes.

This verdict confirmed that attempts to bypass the condition of installing 10,000 spindles were illegal, unconstitutional, and void ab initio. But despite this, the mill remains locked. For over half a year since the ruling, there has been no movement, no employment, and no explanation from the state’s machinery.

The Sprouts News Special Investigation Team has reviewed multiple internal government memos, RTI replies, and official minutes indicating that Mafatlal and Glider Buildcon actively sought to dilute or nullify the revival clause through backdoor negotiations dating back to 2018.

The case illustrates how real estate interests have subverted urban industrial policy. As per records accessed by the investigation team, Glider Buildcon LLP, in correspondence dated 28 May 2018, formally requested the Urban Development Department to lift the condition requiring mill operation. This request directly contradicted lease terms tied to the land under BIFR rules.

In a subsequent meeting convened on 2 March 2019 at the Labour Commissioner’s office, Mafatlal’s Deputy Manager S.Y. Kadam was present—contradicting the company’s later claim that they were unaware of Glider’s lobbying efforts.

Meanwhile, in a strategic PR move, Mafatlal Industries Ltd. disowned Glider’s actions via a letter dated 18 November 2019, accusing its own development partner of acting without authorization and even suggesting legal action. But documents reveal the opposite: Mafatlal’s participation was not only active but essential to all key negotiations.

A team member of Sprouts Special Investigation Team (SIT) and labor rights activist Satish Shivaji Khandge has relentlessly pursued the case since 2018, filing petitions, RTI applications, and representations to the Mumbai Collectorate and state ministries. According to Khandge, the mill’s continued closure not only violates court directives but also tramples on the rights of former mill workers, many of whom live in precarious economic conditions.

In letters to the Urban Development, Revenue, and Labour Ministries, Khandge demanded an immediate restart of the mill per the Supreme Court order and called for a Dakshta Committee (High-Level Inquiry Panel) to investigate wrongdoing by officials and corporate players.

“What is unfolding here is a textbook example of land misuse, bureaucratic shielding, and betrayal of labor. The government must act now—or forever lose credibility.”

Investigations show that multiple hearings were held by the Mumbai District Collector—including one on 28 May 2019—in which neither Mafatlal nor Glider disclosed the ongoing efforts to amend the industrial-use clause. In fact, Urban Development Department’s letter dated 7 September 2019, which initiated the meeting that led to the mill relaxation discussion, was not even shared with the Collector’s office.

Documents suggest that relevant departments, including BMC, Labour Commissioner, and Urban Development, failed to inform the Collectorate of these critical developments. The Sprouts News Special Investigation Team considers this systemic concealment both administrative misconduct and a potential breach of fiduciary duty.

While Piramal’s name does not appear directly in correspondence, senior officials in the state’s Labour and Urban Development Departments have indicated that Piramal Realty may be a silent stakeholder in the Glider-Mafatlal partnership. Sources allege that the mill’s redevelopment was designed as a phased real estate takeover masked as industrial revival.

Real estate portals have already marked CTS 593 as a “high potential urban redevelopment zone.” The estimated market value of the land, if converted to residential or commercial use, could exceed Rs 4,000 crores—a staggering return on a lease originally granted for industrial labor welfare.

Khandge’s latest letter implores the state to act against this betrayal of the public mandate. He demands criminal proceedings against all parties that have misled the court, bypassed BIFR guidelines, and kept mill workers unemployed.

“Enough is enough. The courts have spoken. The people have waited. Now, the state must deliver—or be remembered for siding with the powerful against the powerless.”

The Sprouts News Special Investigation Team will continue to expose developments in this high-stakes battle between public interest and private profit, ensuring that justice for Mumbai’s mill workers is neither delayed nor denied.