The City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) and Navi Mumbai stakeholders are at odds over a plan to transfer land for township development. On August 8, the nodal agency announced that it was seeking bids from “experienced and renowned” construction and development companies for the development of a 27.3-hectare plot of land in Sector 10A in Airoli. Comparable plans for a 100-acre plot of land in Kharghar have been reported.
The issue was initially brought up by the CIDCO Employees Union (CEU), who asserted that the plan will result in significant financial losses for the company and that the decision was made to favor a prominent industrialist. The union has questioned the necessity for CIDCO to choose an agency for development when it has the knowledge to accomplish it on its own and why the customary tender process for selling land is not being followed in a letter to the company’s vice chairman and managing director, Vijay Singhal.
They have also expressed disapproval of the plan’s financial provisions, which purportedly call for CIDCO to receive 10% of the earnings from the sale after ten years. According to sources, the idea was approved in principle by the CIDCO board after a consultant’s August 6 presentation.
Now that social organizations and political figures from all parties are becoming involved, the problem has gotten worse. These figures include BJP MLAs Ganesh Naik, Prashant Thakur, and Mahesh Baldi. At a conference of social and political organizations on Thursday, CIDCO was given a 10-day notice, demanding that it abandon the idea or face agitations. There are several rumors regarding which wealthy industrialist is being given preference.
Source: Hindustan Times
