Mumbai: Powai GCC Project Faces Fresh EC Row As Residents Question Rehabilitation Component, Seek EIA Transparency

Mumbai, July 27, 2026: In a fresh twist to the environmental clearance controversy over the proposed 30,000-seat Global Capability Centre (GCC) at Powai, B.H. Sharma, named as the project proponent in a 2022 environmental clearance (EC), has asserted that the necessary approval is in place.

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However, the EC describes the project as a "Rehabilitation Scheme along with Sale Component" rather than a GCC. This has led residents to question the rehabilitation flats, saying there is no slum around the site.

Questions Over Environmental Clearance

Based on an RTI response received by activist B.N. Kumar, The Free Press Journal had reported on July 23 that no EC or Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) record was available for the GCC.

"Sharma's clarification, however, does not address the EIA issue or place the underlying EIA report in the public domain," said Kumar, adding that this raises transparency issues.

The EC names Bhawanishankar H. Sharma as the project proponent and does not mention Brookfield, JPMorgan Chase or a GCC. Brookfield Properties, however, has publicly announced a build-to-suit lease with JPMorgan Chase for a six-acre Powai campus and linked it to India's growing GCC hub.

Infrastructure Concerns Raised

Kumar said, "The EC itself underscores the scale of the infrastructure challenge. It envisages 11 rehabilitation buildings with 3,986 flats, a three-wing commercial building and eight parking towers, with a projected population of 37,550 and parking for nearly 3,600 vehicles. It estimates daily water demand at 3.053 million litres, sewage generation of 2.72 million litres and solid waste of 9.33 tonnes. Significantly, the EC itself stipulates that traffic congestion near project entry and exit points must be avoided."

"Powai is already choking. A development of this magnitude will put unbearable pressure on roads, traffic and civic infrastructure," Powai ALM Convenor Pamela Cheema said. She also questioned the need for 3,986 rehabilitation flats, saying there is no slum around the site.

Residents Seek Project Review

Recently, a petition was also submitted by the Powai Area Locality Management (ALM) and nearly 20 co-operative housing societies to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, seeking an immediate review of the project.

The residents' petition states that the proposed two-million-square-foot campus, designed to accommodate around 30,000 employees, would overwhelm the already saturated Powai-Chandivali road network, particularly the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road, besides placing enormous pressure on civic infrastructure, emergency services and the fragile Powai Lake ecosystem.

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They have also expressed concern over hill cutting near the Parksite-Vikhroli slopes, warning that it could damage natural drainage, biodiversity corridors linked to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park landscape, and the Powai Lake catchment.

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