Stop Machhimar Nagar redevelopment: Sachin Ahir to chief minister Prithviraj Chavan

A project for the redevelopment of Machhimar Nagar on Mahim coast, which is being spearheaded by Unmesh Joshi, chairman and managing director of Kohinoor Group and son of former chief minister and senior Sena leader Manohar Joshi, has run into trouble.

Minister of state for housing Sachin Ahir wrote a letter to chief minister Prithviraj Chavan asking him to intervene and stop the work of the controversial project. This letter has been accessed by dna.

Ahir said Chavan has agreed to hold a meeting on the issue. “The project proposal has not yet been approved by the state urban development department. So, there is scope to discuss it and take some decision on it. Even residents of the police colony at Machhimar Nagar have asked that they be rehabilitated. However, there were not consulted in this process. They even met home minister RR Patil,” said Ahir.

“Mhada itself should redevelop this prime plot rather than give it to a private developer. We are already facing shortage of land. If Mhada redevelops this land, then more affordable houses can be made available for the needy.”

Some residents of the colony have urged Chavan to stay the controversial Rs5,000-cr project, which is spread over 24.18 acres of sea-facing land.

According to a letter written by advocate Prashant More, on behalf Machhimar Nagar resident Prakash Ruratkar and others, Kohinoor Group was violating various development control (DC) rules. One of the rule states that if the government owns more than 2,000 sq mt of land, then it should be redeveloped by the Mhada.

Different segments of Machhimar Nagar are owned by Mhada, ONGC and the police department. About 2,000 huts currently occupy the land.

Residents have said that Mhada should at least have invited suggestions and objections before giving a no-objection certificate to Kohinoor Group. They have also alleged that the Machhimar Nagar Cooperative Housing Committee is hand in glove with the developer.

Unmesh Joshi didn’t respond to dna’s text messages or calls. Vice-president of Kohinoor Group Atul Modak said he does not deal with the Machhimar Nagar redevelopment.