India, Aug. 14 -- The Bombay High Court last week directed the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to remove 426 illegal structures on farmland near Bhiwandi before February 2026.

The division bench of chief justice Alok Aradhe and justice Sandeep Marne was hearing a public interest litigation filed in 2013 by Mumbai resident Rahul Joganand.

The petitioner had come across numerous illegal constructions in Kon village, near Bhiwandi in Thane district, and learned, via applications under the Right to Information Act, that first information reports had been registered under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 against the deputy sarpanch of the village, Sunil Mhatre, in connection with the illegal struc...