By: Express News ServiceMumbai | October 31, 2025 09:54 PM IST 4 min readThe BMC had earlier acted on the HC’s July 30 order directing the civic body to curb “illegal” and “defiant” feeding of pigeons in public areas such as Dadar West, citing health hazards. (File Photo)The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Friday announced that it has finalised four locations in Mumbai where controlled feeding of pigeons will be allowed. The BMC has also maintained that pigeon-feeding will be allowed only between 7 am and 9 am daily in these specific locations and the existing pigeon feeding spots like the Dadar Kabutarkhana will continue to stay shut as per the orders of the Bombay High Court.Issuing a statement on Friday evening, the BMC said that the four locations where pigeon feeding will be allowed include Mangrove zone in the western section of Worli reservoir, the Lokhandwala backroad where the new sewage treatment plant (STP) is being constructed, the creek area near old Airoli-Mulund Zakat naka and Gorai Maidan at Borivali (west). Civic officials said that these places have been selected since there is minimum human presence to ensure that feeding of pigeons doesn’t harm the human lives.“Feeders will be allowed to provide only grains to the pigeons between 7 am and 9 am every day and food items will not be allowed. Pigeon feeding will also not be allowed outside the specified time zone and private NGOs working in the area of animal feeding should come forward. These NGOs will maintain the feeding operation and ensure vehicle and pedestrian walkability are not affected during the process,” said civic officials.The BMC’s move came three days after a delegation from the Jain community met Mumbai’s municipal commissioner and state-appointed administrator Bhushan Gagrani asking him to designate alternative pigeon feeding spots.Further, the civic officials said that in each of these newly designated sites, signboards will be set up citing the health hazards of pigeon feeding and assistant municipal commissioner-level officers will be made nodal officers to look after the overall issue.The BMC had earlier acted on the HC’s July 30 order directing the civic body to curb “illegal” and “defiant” feeding of pigeons in public areas such as Dadar West, citing health hazards like fungal infections and respiratory issues. Following this, the BMC had covered the Kabutarkhanas by putting scaffolding on them. This move met with serious opposition from the Jain community since in many religious communities feeding of pigeons is considered to be a pious act for which Kabutarkhanas were set up in several parts of Mumbai right from the colonial era. These Kabutarkhanas are open public spaces where feeding of pigeons is a regular practice, particularly at major junctions in Mumbai. The Dadar Kabutarkhana, built in 1933, is managed by a local trust and has been a focal point for bird lovers and religious communities alike.Meanwhile, the members of the Jain community held public protests and in one such protest gathering, members of the community tried to remove the scaffolding all by themselves. In Jainism, feeding pigeons is a form of jeev daya or compassion for living beings, one of the central tenets of Jain ethics. Many Jain families and temples organize regular pigeon feeding, often near temples or trust-run kabutarkhanas. The Dadar Kabutarkhana is one such feeding spot that was set up by a Jain Temple.Story continues below this adFollowing this, the BMC on August 18 stated that it will allow controlled feeding in some of the areas in Mumbai that don’t have a population density. The civic authorities had also invited suggestions and objections from citizens seeking response on this issue. Civic officials on Friday said that it has received 9,779 suggestions and objections from citizens on this matter.In the meantime, BMC had also been penalising violators who were found feeding pigeons in public spaces. According to civic officials, between July and October, more than 200 violators were penalised by the authorities.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC