The Slum Rehabilitation Authority has halted an ongoing survey for a disputed Yerwada redevelopment project after more than 200 residents of Jadhavnagar accused developer Lalit Sakhare and Pashchim Builders of using forged documents and questionable consent letters to advance the scheme. The authority has also promised a joint hearing involving its chief executive officer and the affected residents next week.
The decision followed a march to the SRA office by members of the Jadhavnagar SRA Virodhi Kruti Samiti. Residents alleged that consent letters had been altered and that documents submitted for the project were false. They demanded criminal action against the developer and argued that a rehabilitation scheme affecting low-income residents could not be pushed through against their wishes or on the basis of unverified records.
SRA secretary Sheetal Nikam met the protesters and announced that all survey work connected with the Jadhavnagar scheme would be suspended immediately. The administration said the proposed joint hearing would examine the dispute in detail and that a decision on the next stage of the process would be taken only after the hearing.
The residents have said that stopping the survey temporarily is not enough. Their demands include a detailed investigation into the alleged fraud, fixing responsibility for any irregularities and registering a criminal case if the allegations are established. The dispute has therefore moved beyond the immediate survey to the question of whether the redevelopment process is based on genuine resident consent and legally verified documents.
A separate point of contention is the consent threshold for SRA projects. Protesters demanded that the earlier requirement of 70% consent be restored, alleging that its reduction to 51% has created room for misuse and benefited developers. They called for the 51% provision to be withdrawn immediately. The report attributes this demand to the residents; it does not establish the legal status or applicability of the consent threshold specifically to the Jadhavnagar proposal.
Developer Lalit Sakhare rejected the allegations, saying that all work connected with the SRA process had been carried out legally and that claims of wrongdoing were false. He described the case as the result of a conspiracy against him. The residents were supported during the protest by former corporator and senior leader advocate Ayub Sheikh, as well as local corporators Suhas Tingre and Ravi Tingre.
The next significant step is the joint hearing between the SRA chief executive officer and Jadhavnagar residents scheduled for the following week. The authority has said that further action on the redevelopment proposal will be decided after the issues raised by the residents are examined.
