Crimes could cause property prices to plummet in Navi Mumbai

If the local cops fail to maintain the law and order situation in Navi Mumbai, real estate prices could plummet. Bizarre as this may sound, this is what the president of MCHI-Navi Mumbai fears, in the wake of the recent murders in the satellite city.

After the murders of Navi Mumbai residents Sandhya Singh and Atul Mhatre, builder Sunil Kumar Loharia's murder on Saturday has inspired fear in the hearts of residents, who no longer feel safe in the satellite city

After Navi Mumbai builder Sunil Loharia was murdered in broad daylight on Saturday, builders now fear that Navi-Mumbai's newly acquired notoriety as an unsafe place would lead to a decline in demand for property there.

3 murders in two months
Arvind Goel, president of MCHI-Navi Mumbai claims that three murders in the last two months have created a sense of unease amongst residents and locals. While Sandhya Singh's remains were discovered in Nerul last month, Navi Mumbai's CIDCO officer Atul Mhatre was stabbed 35 times by his assailants on February 8.

This was followed by the daylight murder of real estate agent Sunil Kumar on Saturday, who was shot and stabbed to death outside his office. These morbid incidents have inspired fear in the hearts of many Navi Mumbaikars.

"If this continues and the law and order situation isn't checked in Navi Mumbai, the feeling that Navi Mumbai isn't a safe place to stay in would deter the public from coming here. This would indirectly affect the prices," said Goel.

Manohar Shroff, secretary of MCHI-Navi Mumbai also urged the authorities to try and control the law and order situation in the city. "People should be sensitised about the fact that there is a police department and even a court where things can be sorted out," said Shroff.

Both Goel and Shroff said that the government should protect the public and restore their confidence in Navi Mumbai as a safe place. Loharia's murder has also made real estate agents wary. "Let's stick to our own matters and projects, we shouldn't get involved in someone else's problems, or else things won't be good for us," said another builder, who didn't wish to be named.