Mira Bhayandar Old Villages | Senior officials from Maharashtra’s Urban Development Department inspected old villages, gaothans and tribal hamlets in Mira Bhayandar on Thursday to examine difficulties involving the repair and reconstruction of houses. The inspection was held in the presence of Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik and included officials from the municipal corporation, revenue department and forest department.
The tour began at the Uttan coastline and continued through Rai, Murdha and the Ghodbunder area before concluding at Kajupada in Thane, according to a report by Loksatta. Mira Bhayandar Municipal Commissioner Radhabinod Sharma and other senior officials also participated in the inspection.
Residents of the city’s old villages have been facing difficulties in repairing or rebuilding older homes because of multiple government rules, the report said. Some villagers have proceeded with repairs or reconstruction without obtaining permissions. Such work is treated as unauthorised construction, after which the municipal corporation has taken action against the properties.
The issue gained prominence after municipal action against a house in Murdha triggered a dispute. Local villagers alleged that the action had been taken under pressure from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, according to the report. The allegation was not independently established in the supplied material.
Against this backdrop, local villagers had approached Urban Development Minister Eknath Shinde through Sarnaik. They sought a separate policy to protect the interests of local residents, described in the report as भूमिपुत्र, as well as tribal hamlets in the old villages. Shinde subsequently instructed Urban Development Department officials to take necessary steps, leading to Thursday’s inspection.
The tour brought together officials from several departments because the concerns involve more than municipal permissions. The presence of revenue and forest officials indicates that questions involving land administration and protected areas were also part of the inspection. The supplied report does not specify whether the visit resulted in immediate approvals, a new policy decision or a fixed implementation timeline.
The visit also led to a dispute within the ruling alliance at the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation. Local BJP representatives said they had not been informed about the inspection. As a result, the mayor and local elected representatives could not interact with the senior government officials during the tour, the report said.
Sarnaik had organised the inspection, according to the local BJP representatives quoted in the report. Deputy Mayor Dhruvkishor Patil said the Urban Development Department officials had not informed them about the visit. “If anything is required in this regard, we will contact them directly,” Patil said, according to the report.
No decision on the proposed separate policy, the status of individual homes or the next administrative action was announced in the supplied report. The Urban Development Department and the concerned municipal and state authorities will now have to determine the follow-up to the inspection and the permissions framework applicable to old village houses, gaothans and tribal hamlets.
