The promoters of Mumbai SEZ, including RIL, have filed a petition in the Bombay high court opposing Maharashtra government's decision to hold a defacto referendum on the project.

The Mumbai special economic zone is slated to come up in the neighbouring Raigad district.

The Raigad District Collector had last month issued a notice asking the landowners in the 22 project-affected villages in the district to record their statement regarding their consent for the land acquisition.

The petition says that this move is a result of the pressure from local politicians for opposing the SEZ.

The petition is likely to come up for hearing this week.

These 22 villages are situated in Pen taluka of Raigad district.