Residents of Motilal Nagar in Goregaon West have raised objections to the redevelopment master plan released by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA), alleging that it favours the developer over existing residents. The Motilal Nagar Vikas Samiti (MNVS), a residents’ association, has warned of a protest march to the MHADA headquarters and legal action if its concerns remain unaddressed.
At a meeting held on Sunday, the association presented what it described as major flaws in the proposed redevelopment layout.
“It was pointed out that the natural drainage channels have been diverted and redesigned with sharp right angle turns,” said MNVS secretary Nilesh Prabhu. “The distance between several proposed towers has been reduced to merely seven feet. Despite the availability of approximately 86 acres of land, residents are proposed to be accommodated within only about 9% of the total project area, resulting in extremely congested rehabilitation planning.”
The residents’ body has also questioned the role of Estatevue Developers Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of Adani Properties that is implementing the project. According to MNVS, the developer has been directly approaching cooperative housing societies to discuss redevelopment despite the availability of vacant land where rehabilitation buildings could be constructed first.
“Estatevue Developers is the only agency that will invest funds and construct. It isn’t an agency’s role to engage with the residents,” said MNVS representative Yuvraj Mohite, adding that these concerns were brought to the attention of MHADA Chief Executive Officer Sanjeev Jaiswal on June 24.
MNVS has further alleged that the proposed master plan prioritises the developer’s commercial interests instead of ensuring equitable rehabilitation for residents. The association has demanded that redevelopment work should begin only after obtaining consent from all cooperative housing societies and executing legally binding agreements.
Its key demands include revising the master plan, discussing carpet area entitlement, corpus funds, and a socio-economic survey, while ensuring that all communication with residents is handled directly by MHADA.
“If necessary, once again we will approach the Bombay High Court seeking appropriate legal remedies,” said MNVS president Salim Khan. “We are not opposed to redevelopment. We welcome redevelopment that is lawful, transparent, and protects the rights and dignity of the residents. However, we will not accept any redevelopment plan designed primarily for the benefit of the developer at the cost of residents’ rights.”
Source: Hindustan Times
