Nagpur bench rejects developer's challenge to NMRDA infrastructure charges at Mouza Lava

The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court has dismissed a petition challenging infrastructure charges imposed by the Nagpur Metropolitan Region Development Authority (NMRDA) on land at Mouza Lava, in Nagpur district. The ruling was made public on 31 October 2026. The petitioners were Sandeep Developers Pvt. Ltd. and members of the Agrawal family.

What the petitioners argued

The petitioners said part of their land had earlier been reserved for affordable housing, and that the reservation was later removed. On that basis, they contended that NMRDA could not recover infrastructure costs from the property.

NMRDA said the land is in the R-4 residential zone and is subject to infrastructure charges under the applicable development regulations. The authority's position was that the charges apply to the land as it is classified today.

What the bench held

A Division Bench of Justice Anil S. Kilor and Justice Rajnish R. Vyas found that the petitioners had accepted the conditions NMRDA set for layout approval. They had signed an agreement to pay the infrastructure costs and had deposited the amount. The project was approved after that.

The bench said that having taken the benefit of the agreement, the petitioners could not later challenge its terms. They also did not show that the agreement was signed under fraud or coercion. The petition was dismissed on that basis.

The bench also observed that infrastructure charges fund essential civic services in developing areas, including roads, water supply, electricity and drainage. It held that the charges were justified under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act and the applicable development regulations.

A related Nagpur bench judgment of 15 September 2025, in Radha Madhav Developers v. State of Maharashtra and NMRDA, noted that NMRDA has authority to impose infrastructure costs under clause 4.2 of the Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulation 2020. The two rulings point in the same direction on NMRDA's power to levy such charges.

What it means for developers and buyers

The practical point for developers is that the order links acceptance to later rights. A developer that agrees to layout conditions, signs an agreement and pays the charges will find it hard to reopen those terms afterwards, unless it can show fraud or coercion.

For buyers in NMRDA-approved layouts, the ruling confirms that infrastructure charges agreed at the approval stage stay with the project. Buyers should check whether the developer's layout approval and the related agreement with NMRDA cover the charges, and how those costs are reflected in the project's terms.

The developer, Sandeep Developers Pvt. Ltd., is a Nagpur group that a developer listing says has been building in the city since 1987. The company's ongoing projects are listed on its website. The order does not refer to any of them.

The report did not say whether the petitioners plan to appeal, or what happens next for the land and the charges. Developers with similar disputes in Nagpur will be watching whether the bench's reasoning on accepted conditions is applied in other NMRDA cases.