A fresh planning process is being proposed for 478 hectares around the Mumbai–Ahmedabad bullet train’s planned Thane station, after an earlier process failed to produce a preliminary draft within the prescribed six-month period. The integrated development plan will cover parts of the Thane and Kalyan-Dombivli municipal areas and is intended to coordinate roads, transport, water supply and other civic infrastructure around the station.
The proposal has been submitted for approval before the Thane Municipal Corporation’s general body meeting scheduled for November 20. If approved, the corporation will begin the process of issuing a new official notification, subject to clearance from the Maharashtra government.
The proposed planning area includes 218 hectares within the Thane Municipal Corporation limits and 260 hectares within the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation limits. The two areas will be planned together, with Thane Municipal Corporation taking responsibility for preparing the development plan.
Within the Thane municipal area, the plan will include parts of Mhatardi, Dativali, Betawade and Agasan. On the Kalyan-Dombivli side, parts of Ayre, Kopar, Bhopar, Nandivali Tarf Panchanand, Katai and Usarghar have been identified for inclusion.
The proposed plan is linked to technical cooperation arranged by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs with the Japan International Cooperation Agency for development around four stations on the Mumbai–Ahmedabad bullet train corridor. The Thane station is planned at Mhatardi, where the high-speed rail project is expected to bring additional development pressure and require coordinated civic infrastructure.
An earlier notification for preparing the plan was published in the Maharashtra government gazette on October 28, 2025. Under the applicable process, a preliminary draft was required to be published within six months. According to the administration’s proposal, that deadline could not be met because the planning for several proposed connections to the station remained incomplete.
These connections include the internal circular metro, Metro Line 14 and a waterway link. A jetty for the waterway has been proposed on the Ulhas River to the north of the station. The administration has said that the incomplete planning for these links prevented the development plan from being prepared within the required period.
The Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation has given its consent for the combined planning exercise, while the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority has also indicated that it has no objection, according to the proposal placed before the Thane civic administration.
The new process will therefore require approval from the Thane Municipal Corporation general body before the official notification can be issued again. State government approval will also be required, after which the development-plan process can formally resume.
