A dispute over stalled slum rehabilitation projects in Thane has intensified after Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik visited the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) on Thursday and sought action against developers linked to projects associated with local leaders of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, according to a report by Loksatta.
The projects mentioned in the report are located in areas including Subhashnagar, Gandhinagar, Nalpada and Shastrinagar. Sarnaik reportedly raised concerns about delays in some of the schemes and pressed the authority to take action against the developers involved. The report identified Thane Municipal Corporation’s house leader Hanmant Jagdale and former corporator Sanjay Pandey as the political figures at the centre of the dispute.
Pandey is associated with the Subhashnagar redevelopment project and is a former corporator who is currently aligned with the Shinde-led Shiv Sena. His son, Siddharth, is a serving municipal corporator from the same party, the report said. Jagdale, described as a senior municipal corporator, is associated with the Lakshmi Chiragnagar project.
The latest SRA intervention follows a separate disagreement over the proposed alignment of an under-construction internal metro project in Thane. The report said the metro route passes through Jagdale’s ward in the Lokmanya Nagar area, where planning for a cluster redevelopment project is also under way with his involvement.
A large civic meeting opposing the metro alignment was held in the area last week. Sarnaik led the meeting, according to the report. The SRA visit came soon after that mobilisation, bringing the redevelopment projects and the metro alignment into the same political dispute.
The report also referred to earlier political competition between Sarnaik and the local leaders named in connection with the projects. Pandey had previously contested an election against Sarnaik from the Bharatiya Janata Party, while Jagdale is regarded as a longstanding political rival of the transport minister.
Slum rehabilitation projects in Mumbai’s wider metropolitan region involve the redevelopment of informal settlements and the delivery of replacement housing to eligible residents. Delays can affect residents awaiting rehabilitation, landowners, developers and local authorities, although the Loksatta report did not provide project-wise timelines, the number of affected households or the specific regulatory status of the schemes mentioned.
The report said Sarnaik named Jagdale and Pandey while seeking action at the SRA office. It did not include a response from the two leaders, the concerned developers or the SRA on the allegations of delay. It also did not specify the formal orders issued, if any, or the next regulatory steps for the projects.
The immediate issue is therefore whether the SRA will initiate an official review or enforcement process against the projects identified by the minister. Further details will depend on any formal communication from the authority and responses from the developers and political leaders named in the report.
