After more than nine months of delays over regulatory clearances, the BMC has begun trial work to clear legacy waste from the Deonar dumping ground, a key step towards freeing up 124 acres earmarked for rehabilitation housing under the Dharavi Redevelopment Project.

Three of the five permissions that had held up the Rs 2,537 crore bioremediation project have come through in the past month. The civic body, however, is still awaiting permission from the Bombay High Court and environmental clearance from the Centre before waste can be transported out of the site.

The progress comes nearly a month after reported that the project had remained stuck in a maze of clearances for over nine months, despite the BMC awarding the contract and extending the contractor’s deadline twice.

To start the bioremediation work – an environment friendly process to reclaim a land parcel from years of legacy waste – the BMC and NECL required seven different permissions from multiple government agencies.

“Trial work has begun at the site from the start of this month. Machinery has been deployed and waste is being segregated and stacked. We can move the waste out only after the court clearance comes through,” a civic official said.

The 124-acre Deonar parcel was earmarked by the state housing department in October 2024 for rehabilitation housing under the Dharavi Redevelopment Project, a joint venture between the Maharashtra government and the Adani Group. The project is being executed by Navbharat Mega Developers Pvt Ltd, a special purpose vehicle in which Adani Properties Pvt Ltd holds an 80 per cent stake and the Slum Rehabilitation Authority holds the remaining 20 per cent.

To clear the land, the BMC floated a tender for bioremediation, the process of clearing and reclaiming land occupied by legacy waste, in May 2025. The Rs 2,368 crore tender was awarded to Navayuga Engineering Company Ltd for Rs 2,537 crore in October 2025.

The BMC has now received no-objection certificates from the state mangrove cell and Maharashtra Wildlife Board, both issued on August 13, followed by a Consent to Operate from the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board on August 21.

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The mangrove clearance was particularly important as a significant portion of the landfill lies within 50 metres of mangroves along the Thane Creek, a habitat for flamingos. The BMC had applied for the mangrove and wildlife clearances on April 21.

The civic body has since approached the Bombay High Court for permission and is awaiting its order. It also needs clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Officials expect both permissions by October.

Under the tender conditions, NECL was required to secure statutory clearances within three months of the work order. Failure to do so attracted a penalty of Rs 50,000 per day until work commenced.

The Deonar landfill, spread over 211 acres, has been receiving waste since 1927 and contains an estimated 1.85 crore metric tonnes of legacy waste, piled nearly 40 metres high. Of the 124 acres earmarked for Dharavi rehabilitation housing, 62 acres fall within an eco sensitive zone.