State Panel Recommends Removing Eight Religious Structures in Dharavi Sector 1
A Maharashtra government-appointed committee has recommended the removal of eight religious structures and the relocation or consolidation of three others in Sector 1 of the Dharavi Redevelopment Project area in Central Mumbai. The recommendations were submitted last week in the committee's first interim report to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, initiating the process of deciding the fate of hundreds of religious structures in the area.
The panel has been tasked with examining 590 identified religious structures within the Dharavi redevelopment area to facilitate the ongoing urban renewal project. This first report focused on 12 priority religious structures in Sector 1. Out of these, 11 were adjudicated, while one was excluded from consideration following a revision of the project boundary.
The committee recommended the complete removal of eight structures after determining they were constructed after September 29, 2009. This date serves as the Supreme Court's cut-off, which directs states not to permit unauthorised religious structures on public land, including streets and parks.
The structures slated for removal include the Muthmaruyamma Trust structure, two Hanuman Mandirs, two Shiv Mandirs, and three Sai Baba Mandirs.
Meanwhile, three older structures that existed before the 2009 cut-off date were recommended for relocation or consolidation. These are the Shree Dashmani Hanuman Temple, Mariamman Temple, and Shree Kartik Swami Mandir. According to the report, the representative of the Shree Dashmani Hanuman Temple has agreed to consolidate with other similar religious structures.
Under the state's consolidation framework, structures that violate the DRP Master Plan or Development Control Regulations, and cannot survive individually, may be merged into a single, larger common facility if stakeholders cooperate.
A twelfth structure, the Shree Siddhivinayak Temple, was excluded from the final recommendations. Although its representatives attended a hearing on November 28, 2025, and agreed to cooperate, a subsequent revision in the project boundary placed the temple outside the DRP area.
The committee has conducted 149 hearings so far and plans to submit further phase-wise reports as it examines the remaining religious structures in Dharavi. The committee was set up following a decision by the Committee of Secretaries on August 20, 2024, to address the large number of religious structures in the redevelopment zone.
