In a significant development for Mumbai's real estate sector, DLF has formally exited the long-disputed Tulsiwadi urban renewal project in Tardeo, South Mumbai, after reaching a settlement with Hubtown. As part of the consent terms, DLF has withdrawn all ongoing legal proceedings against Hubtown, Twenty-Five Downtown Realty (formerly Joyous Housing), PNB Housing Finance, and other associated parties. The move brings closure to a dispute that had kept one of South Mumbai's largest redevelopment schemes tied up in litigation for years.
The Tulsiwadi project sits on a 17-acre parcel adjoining the Willingdon Club in Tardeo and is valued at roughly Rs 10,000 crore, making it among the largest urban renewal plays in South Mumbai. Under the terms of the agreement, Twenty-Five Downtown, backed by Hubtown, will pay DLF a total of Rs 800 crore over two years, with the first tranche of Rs 100 crore already paid. To secure the remaining balance, Hubtown has mortgaged 1.5 lakh square feet of saleable area in the upcoming development in DLF's favour, with the documentation registered recently.
The roots of the dispute trace back to 2021, when a Rs 900-crore loan taken by the project's special purpose vehicle (SPV) from PNB Housing Finance turned into a non-performing asset. Following the default, PNB Housing Finance invoked pledged shares held by DLF and its former partner Chinsha Property, a Shapoorji Pallonji Group entity, and sold them to recover its exposure. The loan was subsequently taken over by Omkara Asset Reconstruction Company. This share transfer and pledge invocation triggered allegations from DLF over wrongful ouster and violation of shareholder rights, leading to years of arbitration, National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) hearings, and RERA-related complaints. While Chinsha accepted its exit early on, DLF continued to contest the matter until now.
With this settlement, DLF has relinquished its 37.5 per cent stake in the SPV that originally also included Chinsha and Hubtown, effectively handing Hubtown full control of the redevelopment. A DLF spokesperson has confirmed the terms of the agreement and the mortgage arrangement, though Hubtown has not issued a formal statement on the matter.
For homebuyers and investors tracking the Tardeo micro-market, the settlement is a meaningful signal. The SPV has already registered three residential towers under MahaRERA and secured construction funding from Oaktree Capital, meaning the project now has both a cleared ownership structure and financing in place to move toward execution. Real estate experts note that the resolution reflects a broader shift in how large, complex redevelopment disputes are being settled in India's property sector, with structured payouts backed by real assets increasingly preferred over prolonged court battles.
For DLF, the exit from Tulsiwadi marks the end of one of its more complicated South Mumbai forays, even as the settlement nets the company a substantial payout. The company continues to concentrate its residential development pipeline in Gurugram, where projects across Golf Course Road, Golf Course Extension Road, and the Southern Peripheral Road corridor remain its primary growth engine going into FY27.
For buyers who had been watching Tulsiwadi as a potential South Mumbai address, the project's path forward now rests entirely with Hubtown and its partners. With the legal cloud lifted and financing tied up, the redevelopment is expected to see renewed construction activity, though final unit configurations, pricing, and possession timelines for the three RERA-registered towers are yet to be detailed publicly.
