The Supreme Court order on commercial use of residential property, made on 25 March 2026, took a dispute about one unauthorised ground-plus-one building in north Chennai and turned it into a national exercise: the municipal corporation of every State and Union Territory capital was ordered to survey its whole jurisdiction for residential areas being used for non-residential purposes, and to say so on an affidavit signed personally by its Commissioner. This page tracks what each capital has actually done. It is written for owners — especially owners who live in one city and own property in another — and it is updated after every hearing. The next hearing is reported for 15 September 2026.

What the Court ordered, in four steps

25 March 2026. In Loganathan v. State of Tamil Nadu, Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R. Mahadevan impleaded every capital's corporation, ordered surveys of "areas demarcated exclusively for residential use, but are being misused for non-residential purposes", and set 15 May 2026 for affidavits personally affirmed by Commissioners (order). 20 May. Only three States had filed. The Court demanded fresh affidavits on "actual action taken", defined that action as "immediate and effective measures, including sealing, demolition, or any other action warranted in law", told statutory appellate authorities to clear pending cases within three months, imposed ₹50,000 costs on every State, and added the NCR authorities, Salt Lake's Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation and the Greater Bengaluru Authority (order). 9 July. After fires in Delhi and Lucknow killed 38 people, the Court warned officials they would be "personally liable" and ordered an IIT-Delhi expert survey of Malviya Nagar, Saket and Lajpat Nagar (report). 4 August. Responses were "wholly unsatisfactory". Every State and UT was impleaded through its Chief Secretary; Mizoram, Greater Noida, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Lakshadweep were named as defaulters and costs rose to ₹1,00,000; Jaipur's coaching centres in residential areas were "not only shocking but also alarming"; the Lucknow Development Authority's Vice-Chairman received a contempt notice (order; SCC Online).

The tracker — as of 10 September 2026

Counts are each authority's own published figures, with the date. "Nothing published" means no public record could be found; that is not evidence of compliance or of inaction. Sources for every line are in the city articles linked from the city name.

  • Bhubaneswar — Enforcing. 4,632 buildings identified (4 Aug); 4,632 ultimatums with a four-week window; 40+ sealed and 112 listed (5 Aug); a trade licence now needs an approved commercial plan (25 Aug).
  • Bhopal — Enforcing, paused. 8,264 occupancy notices (by 24 Aug); about 190 sealed (31 Aug–2 Sep); traders' shutdown; drive paused 3 Sep; CM to put the Master Plan before the Court on 15 Sep.
  • Delhi NCR — Enforcing (safety-led). Survey filed, misuse count unpublished; 491 sealed and 1,053 demolished (1 Jun–9 Sep) in a safety drive after two collapses; IIT-Delhi survey of Malviya Nagar, Saket and Lajpat Nagar; Gurugram DTCP sealed 35 floors in DLF Phase 4 (21 Jul); traders want MPD-2041 first.
  • Jaipur — Notices, stayed. JDA notices on 13 and 24 Jul (count unpublished); JDA Appellate Tribunal stay (30 Jul); the Court gave the tribunal two weeks to decide.
  • Lucknow — Contempt. Lucknow Development Authority Vice-Chairman on contempt notice after 15 student deaths; 2016 demolition order had been recalled by the same authority.
  • Patna — Survey done. Circle-wise lists published; owners summoned to circle offices with approvals, sanctioned plans and occupancy certificates.
  • Chennai — Origin city; appeals. About 700 appeals pending; five extra appellate authorities ordered (4 Aug); no survey count, notice or sealing figure published.
  • Bengaluru — Refused service. Notice "reportedly refused" (20 May); GBA Commissioner to explain; nothing published under this order; a separate High Court PG proceeding (1,500 PGs inspected).
  • Kolkata / Salt Lake — Salt Lake named. Bidhannagar named on 20 May, KMC only by class; KMC change-of-use SOP (4 Sep); 919 guest houses noticed on fire-safety grounds (9 Sep).
  • Mumbai — Not featured. No MCGM affidavit or count published; the "BMC" in headlines is Bhopal or Bhubaneswar, not Brihanmumbai.
  • Hyderabad — Not featured. Nothing published under this order; GHMC's 2021 impact-fee regularisation (7,000+ buildings, 111 corridors) is the likely revival.
  • Guwahati — Acknowledged. Mayor flagged de facto mixed use along GS Road (16 Apr); no count published.
  • Chandigarh (as Punjab's capital), Dehradun, Aizawl, Kavaratti — Defaulters (4 Aug). No affidavit filed; ₹1,00,000 costs or contempt notice to the Chief Secretary.
  • Thiruvananthapuram, Gandhinagar, Amaravati, Ranchi, Raipur, Shimla, Srinagar, Panaji, Puducherry, Agartala, Imphal, Kohima, Shillong, Itanagar, Gangtok, Daman, Leh, Port Blair — No public record. Impleaded by class; nothing published as of 10 September 2026.

What it adds up to

Thirty-four capital cities were ordered to survey (Chandigarh counted once; J&K's twin capitals counted once). As of 10 September, two have published a count, two have sealed at scale, five have been named as defaulters, and most have published nothing. The Court's method has moved from surveys to people — personal affirmation, personal appearance, contempt notices, costs on States — and the two cities where sealing happened produced opposite politics: silence in Odisha, a traders' revolt and a paused drive in Madhya Pradesh. Where the drive has not landed, each city already has an instrument of its own that an owner will meet first: Mumbai's trade licence, Bengaluru's PG proceedings, Hyderabad's impact-fee scheme, Chennai's CMDA sealing register, Kolkata's new change-of-use SOP.

Three things that hold everywhere

  1. The test is the sanctioned plan and the zoning, not the holding-tax slab, the trade licence or how long the use has run. Where a master plan permits mixed use, the permission must be shown on paper.
  2. The statutory appeal is the fastest remedy the Court has created. Three months from 20 May, enforced city by city; Jaipur's tribunal was given two weeks, Chennai five extra authorities.
  3. Sealing can precede the hearing. Respond to any notice with documents inside its window — approved plan, occupancy or completion certificate, any change-of-use permission, the tenant's licence — and do not wait for a second notice.

This is general information, not legal advice; take advice on your own property.

What to watch

The 15 September 2026 hearing (reported), where action-taken reports fall due and Madhya Pradesh intends to raise Bhopal's Master Plan; the corrected Chennai affidavit and Bengaluru's explanation for refusing service; whether Bhubaneswar's 112 listed buildings are sealed; and whether the three-month appeals deadline of 20 August was met anywhere. Each city article carries its own list.

Navoasset manages residential and commercial property in Bhubaneswar, where this order has produced 4,632 notices and a new trade-licence rule. Many of our owners live in the cities above, which is why we track every capital and update this page after each hearing.