MUMBAI, Sept. 1 -- In a ruling with major implications for Mumbai's urban landscape, the Supreme Court recently upheld a Bombay High Court decision that unlocks 150 acres of salt pan land in Mulund East for the rehabilitation of Dharavi residents who do not qualify for on-site housing under the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP). Eligibility for rehabilitation is based on the cut-off date of settlement. Residents who settled in Dharavi before January 1, 2000 are entitled to free 350 sq ft homes within Dharavi itself. Those who moved in between January 1, 2000 and January 1, 2011 may be allotted 300 sq ft homes at alternative sites such as the Mulund salt pans. The apex court dismissed an appeal by Dadar resident and lessee Vikas Walawalkar, who had sought protection over the land despite failing to use it for its original purpose of salt production. A bench of justices Arvind Kumar and NV Anjaria held that the high court's ruling was equitable and required no interference, bringing to a close a dispute that has spanned nearly two decades. The legal wrangle dates back more than a century. In 1921, the colonial-era Secretary of State for India executed three lease deeds granting nearly 782 acres of salt pan land in Mulund, Bhandup, and Kanjurmarg exclusively for salt production. The 99-year lease, effective from 1917, was later transferred to Walawalkar in 1994 as a sub-lessee through a supplementary agreement. In 2005, the deputy salt commissioner terminated the lease for non-compliance with the salt production clause. Walawalkar contested the decision, arguing that salt production had been disrupted by factors beyond his control, including encroachments of slums and industries along the western boundary, which discharged sewage and effluents onto the pans. He further sought a declaration entitling him to a renewed 99-year lease after the original expired in October 2016. In August 2023, justice Sandeep Marne of Bombay high court upheld the termination, ruling that the land had been leased solely for salt manufacturing and could not be converted into any broader claim over ownership. "In a city like Mumbai, where land prices are among the highest in the country, permitting the use of 782 acres of land for salt manufacturing cannot be confused with creating any vested right in the land for the lessee," justice Marne observed. "The moment the lessee ceases salt production, the land must be returned to the lessor."Walawalkar received partial relief in April 2024, when a division bench of justices BP Colabawalla and Firdosh Pooniwalla allowed him to retain 632 acres of land located east of the Eastern Express Highway, on the condition that he continued paying assignment fees. On August 20, the SC dismissed Walawalkar's appeal over the 150-acre tract, holding that the HC had acted on equitable grounds. "Out of the total extent of 782.46 acres, 150 acres was not utilised for the purpose for which it was leased for almost 30 years," the bench said. Residents of Mulund have voiced opposition to the plan, citing fears of increased pressure on already strained civic infrastructure and concerns over demography....