Mega redevelopment project row goes to PMO

The Motilal Nagar Vikas Samiti an association of residents formed for the redevelopment of their colony in Goregaon West has alleged a mega scam in the project sanctioned by the Uddhav Thackerayled MVA government The tender cost escalated by 60 per cent in just six months and MHADArsquos share in the flats reduced sharply by nearly 7 per cent alleged samiti joint secretary Nilesh Prabhu in their letter to the prime ministerrsquos office PMOAccording to the Motilal Nagar Vikas Samiti Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority MHADA floated a tender of Rs 21918 crore in October But six months later it increased the project cost to Rs 36295 crore the samiti allegedMHADArsquos proposed cost for the facelift of merely 142acre Motilal Nagar is much higher than the estimated cost for the redevelopment of over 600acre Dharavi which is pegged at about Rs 22000 croreMotilal Nagar has both MHADA tenants and slum population in Goregaon WestAccusing MHADA of relying on improper project reports for revision of prices the Motilal Nagar Vikas Samiti has written a letter to the prime ministerrsquos office PMO and demanded a thorough probe in the caseNilesh Prabhu the Samitirsquos joint secretary told midday ldquoIf one revises the tender cost it would be by a few percent But cost revision and escalation of over 60 per cent and that too in a short span of six months sounds fishyldquoNot just that MHADArsquos share in flats has decreased to 1329 per cent from 20 per cent previously This is a loss to the housing authority This looks like a big scam and hence we have asked for a detailed probe preferably by central law enforcement agenciesrdquo Prabhu addedThe share of the developer has increased from 56 per cent to 6271 percent Prabhu said that the reason cited by MHADA for cost revision was that the ldquoarchitect who submitted the report had forgotten to include a few things during the preparation of the initial report based on which the tenders were preparedrdquoWhat led to redevelopmentIn 2013 Dharavi resident Manjula Kadir Veeran filed a PIL public interest litigation in the Bombay High Court alleging unauthorised extensions in Motilal Nagar During the hearing Motilal Nagar societies who were not a party to the PIL submitted an affidavit stating they want to redevelop the colonyHowever in 2016 MHADA intervened and said they will undertake the redevelopment of Motilal Nagar which was built in 1960On October 13 2021 MHADA floated a tender for the redevelopment of Motilal Nagar 1 2 and 3mdasha MHADA colony spread over 142 acres in Goregaon West MHADA opened the technical bids on December 14 2021 and Adani LampT and Naman group participated Naman group was disqualified during the technical bidThe samiti learnt about the revised cost when MHADA submitted an affidavit on February 8 2022 in the HC during the hearing PIL hearings The financial bid is pending approval from the courtThe redevelopment tender floated under the publicprivate partnership model construction and development agencies was aimed at rehabilitating nearly 3700 MHADA tenants and nearly 1600 families from the slum hutments a total of approximately 5300 families Every tenant will get 1600 sq ft of built up area according to the government resolution GR passed during the MVA governmentlsquoItrsquos riggedrsquoThe samiti believes that the price has been rigged to benefit developers and government officials ldquoOnly a proper inquiry would bring the reality to the fore Stringent and penal action should be taken against all those officials who are found guilty in this entire processrdquo the letter to the PMO mentionedThe letter has also been dispatched to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis Central Vigilance Commission of India and the Enforcement Directorate Motilal Nagar Vikas Samiti formed in 2012 is an umbrella body of 56 of nearly 70 societies in the colonyWhile authorities from MHADA did not reply to messages or phone calls former housing minister in the MVA government Jitendra Awhad told midday ldquoI have no role in this So what can I sayrdquoThe previous MVA government is facing a slew of inquiries ordered by the current dispensation including the alleged scam in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporationrsquos works during the COVID19 pandemic1600 sqftBuiltup area of each flat as per the tender5300No of families to be rehabilitated142 acresArea of Motilal Nagar earmarked for redevelopmentRs 21918 CRInitial cost of the project in GoregaonRs 36295 CRRevised cost of the redevelopment project2016Year redevelopment process began