Vasai-Virar Civic Polls Likely To Be Delayed As Four Petitions Reach Bombay High Court Over Village Inclusion

Mumbai: The Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation elections are likely to face delays after four separate petitions were filed in the Bombay High Court challenging the recent decisions related to ward formation and inclusion of villages.

Although the ward structure has been finalized, several legal issues have put a question mark on the election process. These petitions raise concerns over the state government’s decisions, administrative procedures, and the violation of tribal rights under the PESA Act.

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The Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation was formed in 2009 by merging four municipal councils and nearby villages. However, 29 villages had opposed this inclusion. In 2011, the government issued a notification to exclude these villages, but the corporation challenged it in court. After a 14-year legal battle, the state government, in August 2025, decided to bring these villages back under the municipal corporation.

Following this decision, the election process began. But four petitions have now been filed in the High Court:

August 25 – Activists Vijay Patil and Advocate Jimmy Gonsalves challenged the government’s notification of re-including 29 villages.

September 2 – A petition claimed that the Konkan Divisional Commissioner removed the villages from the district council without public hearings.

October 7 – Kishor Thakre filed a petition stating that 13 of these 29 villages fall under the PESA Act, which gives special protections to tribal areas. Under this law, municipal rules do not apply unless the Governor approves.

October 10 – Another petition said the new ward formation ignored objections from the affected villages and was therefore unfair.

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The Supreme Court has directed that all municipal elections in Maharashtra must be completed by January 31, 2026. However, due to these legal hurdles, especially the PESA-related petition, the Vasai-Virar civic elections may be postponed until the court resolves these matters.

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