Congress MP Gaikwad, BJP member Kamboj spar over SRA projects

Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad has questioned how a company, which she claimed was linked to a BJP leader, was appointed as the developer for a 38-acre Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) project in suburban Mumbai.

In an X post, she named the firm as 'Shiv Infra Vision Properties Pvt Ltd' and said it has bagged the multi-crore project in the Juhu Gully area, and sought to know the nature of its association with the BJP leader whom she did not identify, but said he has taken ''voluntary retirement'' from the party.

The Lok Sabha MP asked Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, his deputy Eknath Shinde, who is the housing minister, and SRA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mahendra Kalyankar to explain what due process was followed before finalising the developer.

''Was the mandatory 13(2) procedure under the Maharashtra Slum Areas Act completed before changing the (previous) developer,'' she questioned.

The SRA, a state-run agency created to safeguard the housing rights of the poor, has today become a ''den of corruption,'' brazenly siding with builders and those who wield political influence in the corridors of power, alleged the MP from Mumbai North-Central.

The Juhu Gully project, worth thousands of crores, involves more than 6,500 slum dwellers, almost all of whom were kept in the dark before a new developer was imposed upon them, she claimed.

Most of the slum dwellers live under the fear of being forcefully displaced and denied their rightful in situ (in original place) rehabilitation, the Congress leader stated.

Gaikwad opined that in her constituency Mumbai North-Central alone, she has received numerous complaints about wrongdoings in SRA projects like rules being flouted to favour builders, forceful displacement of residents, endless delays and harassment of citizens.

Residents of the Behram Sudhar Committee SRA in Bandra (E) have also raised similar concerns about a sudden change of developer, she claimed.

''After we raised questions about so many SRA projects being handed over to a firm linked to a BJP leader, who recently took voluntary retirement from the party, the BJP IT cell has activated its online wild and false allegations factory. We had also raised questions on how a plot reserved for municipal housing was illegally parcelled out to the same firm,'' Gaikwad stated.

Lashing out at her detractors, she accused them of trying to intimidate her and link her husband's name to another redeveloped housing project in Mumbai.

''They have tried to drag in my spouse and made false claims about him owning flats in Patra Chawl (which was under redevelopment and came under ED lens in 2023). I challenge them to show a single such flat. They won't be able to, because this is a blatant lie,'' she asserted.

''This is BJP's old bag of dirty tricks, lie, lie and keep on lying and intimidate,'' Gaikwad charged.

Meanwhile, reacting to reports in a section of the media and social media handles that Gaikwad was referring to him while making claims about SRA projects, BJP member and businessman Mohit Kamboj said assertions about his retirement from politics and getting redevelopment housing projects are baseless.

Kamboj, in a statement, said ''It has come to my notice that certain media houses and social media platforms are circulating reports regarding my so-called ''retirement from active politics''. I wish to make it absolutely clear that I have never declared, at any point, that I am retiring from active politics. These reports are baseless and misleading.'' ''I have also seen statements attributed to Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad alleging the Maharashtra government has given me ''30 SRA projects'', he said.

Her claims are absolutely false, Kamboj stated.

''I challenge her to provide proof and share the names of even five SRA projects that the government has directly given to me. If she fails to do so, then she must take responsibility for her false claims and resign from her post,'' he added.

Projects under SRA involve redeveloping slum areas by constructing new, permanent homes for slum dwellers.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)