HC quashes Maharashtra order to acquire Tata Power’s land for Ayurvedic wellness project

The Bombay High Court cancelled the Maharashtra government’s attempt to acquire 84 hectares belonging to Tata Power Company Limited in Pune. It quashed the related notifications and show-cause notices, including the March 2025 notification that categorised the land as an industrial area. The ruling stopped the proposed transfer of the land to a private organisation.

The disputed land lies near Thokarwadi Dam and Reservoir. It forms the catchment area for Tata Power’s existing 75-megawatt Bhivpuri Hydro Station and proposed 1,000-megawatt Bhivpuri Pumped Storage Project. The government intended to transfer it to the Maharishi Vedoddharak Foundation for a Rs 1,500-crore Ayurvedic wellness project.

Justices Manish Pitale and Shreeram V Shirsat said the catchment area could not be developed for spiritual and leisure activities at the expense of hydroelectric projects. The court also referred to a government rule restricting development within 500 metres of a dam’s high-flood line.

A dam’s catchment area is the surrounding land that collects rainwater and channels it into the dam or reservoir. That water supply is essential because hydroelectric facilities depend on controlled water movement to generate power. Changes to the catchment can affect how much water reaches the reservoir and how safely the dam operates.

The 84 hectares near Thokarwadi Dam and Reservoir form part of Tata Power’s catchment area. The company operates the 75-megawatt Bhivpuri Hydro Station there and has proposed a 1,000-megawatt Bhivpuri Pumped Storage Project. Tata Power argued that the land had been given to its predecessors more than a century ago for generating hydroelectricity.

The court treated the land’s function as central to the dispute. It criticised using an operational dam’s catchment area for spiritual and leisure activities. It also cited a government resolution saying development is prohibited within 500 metres of a dam’s high-flood line.

The disputed area measures 84 hectares near the Thokarwadi Dam and Reservoir in Pune. The figure describes the land Maharashtra sought to acquire and transfer for a private Ayurvedic wellness project. Its location makes the area strategically important, because it is part of the dam’s catchment rather than simply unused land.

Tata Power’s existing Bhivpuri Hydro Station has a capacity of 75 megawatts. The company has also proposed a much larger Bhivpuri Pumped Storage Project with a planned capacity of 1,000 megawatts. Both projects are linked to the water system around the dam, making the catchment relevant to their operation and development.

The Bombay High Court rejected the acquisition and set aside the industrial-area notification. The court questioned whether development for spiritual and leisure activities could occur at the expense of these power projects. Its ruling protects the land from the specific acquisition challenged in the case.

The Maharashtra government pursued the acquisition of Tata Power’s 84 hectares near Thokarwadi Dam and Reservoir. The land was meant to be transferred to the Maharishi Vedoddharak Foundation, a private organisation identified for the proposed development. The acquisition followed a March 2025 notification categorising the land as an industrial area.

The planned project was valued at Rs 1,500 crores. It was described as an Ayurvedic wellness project containing a wellness centre and an Ayurvedic college. Earlier, in June 2018, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had written to Ratan Tata suggesting that part of Tata Power’s Pune land be made available for “vedic pandits to take up chanting.”

Tata Power challenged the move because the land served its hydroelectric operations. The High Court ultimately set aside the notification declaring the land an industrial area and the subsequent acquisition by the private company. The proposed transfer therefore cannot proceed under the action challenged in this case.

Tata Power argued that the acquisition violated the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. Its central objection was that the land had been given to the company’s predecessors more than a century earlier for the public purpose of generating hydroelectricity. The company said that purpose mattered when the government sought to change the land’s use.

Tata Power also contended that Maharashtra was using the acquisition process to benefit a private company. The proposed recipient was the Maharishi Vedoddharak Foundation, which was linked to the Rs 1,500-crore wellness project. The company challenged both the government’s notifications and the subsequent acquisition action.

The High Court accepted Tata Power’s challenge and set aside the impugned actions. The ruling also relied on a March 8, 2018, government resolution prohibiting development within 500 metres of a dam’s high-flood line. The court said the land could not be used for development activity.

A dam’s catchment area supplies water to the reservoir, so changing the land can affect water collection and the conditions needed for power generation. Construction or other development may also create safety and environmental concerns around an operational dam. For Tata Power, the issue was not merely ownership but the continued functioning of its hydroelectric system.

The 84 hectares form the catchment area for the existing 75-megawatt Bhivpuri Hydro Station. They are also connected to Tata Power’s proposed 1,000-megawatt Bhivpuri Pumped Storage Project. The company therefore argued that transferring the land for a wellness centre and Ayurvedic college could undermine current operations and future plans.

The court criticised acquiring an operational dam’s catchment area for spiritual and leisure activities. It asked whether this could happen at the expense of Tata Power’s hydroelectric projects. The court also said the land could not be used for development activity under the cited 2018 government resolution.

Hydroelectric plants generate electricity when water flows through turbines connected to generators. A reservoir stores water, while the dam controls its release. The amount and timing of water flow affect how reliably the plant can produce power. A catchment area helps collect water that replenishes the reservoir.

Pumped-storage plants use two reservoirs at different elevations. They pump water uphill when electricity is available and release it downhill through turbines when power is needed. This makes the facility a form of large-scale electricity storage. The proposed Bhivpuri Pumped Storage Project is planned for 1,000 megawatts, while the existing hydro station has 75 megawatts.

These facilities need suitable reservoirs, water flows and surrounding land because construction or development can interfere with inflows, access, safety or operating space. In this case, the High Court said the catchment could not be developed for spiritual and leisure activities at the expense of Tata Power’s projects. These technical details are established power-sector knowledge; the article supplies the project capacities and court ruling.