BJP, Cong clash with Sena over Meghwadi plot at BMC meet

MUMBAI: The civic Improvements Committee meeting on Wednesday saw high drama, with the BJP staging a walkout over a proposal concerning a plot in Jogeshwari, and the Congress calling it “theatrics”

MUMBAI: The civic Improvements Committee meeting on Wednesday saw high drama, with the BJP staging a walkout over a proposal concerning a plot in Jogeshwari, and the Congress calling it “theatrics”. The proposal was cleared by chairperson and Shiv Sena corporator Sandhya Doshi, ignoring demands from the BJP and Congress to have it deferred and reworked.

The proposal sought to delete the ‘rehabilitation and resettlement’ (RR 2.1) reservation on a 1,802.75-sq m plot in Jogeshwari and changed it to ‘residential’. Civic sources said tensions between the BJP and Sena, allies in the ruling Mahayuti, over proposals being cleared, have been building.

The plot, owned by MHADA, had been reserved in the Development Plan of 1991 as RR 2.1, for tenements of Project Affected Persons (PAPs). The adjacent Meghwadi Siddhivinayak Cooperative Housing Society, in the Meghwadi MHADA Layout, is to undergo redevelopment, with the reserved plot being converted into residential use and incorporated into the redevelopment project.

During Wednesday’s meeting, BJP corporators wanted the proposal deferred, citing lack of details. A senior Sena corporator, however, claimed the proposal had already been discussed with their alliance partner. He argued that it was linked to a redevelopment project that would “benefit ordinary residents”.

Leader of the House Ganesh Khankar (BJP) said, “We had an understanding from the beginning that until there is complete clarity on a proposal, it should not be passed. These are municipal assets and should be handled with utmost care,” Khankar said, who called Doshi’s actions “highhanded”.

Congress group leader Ashraf Azmi also sought to send the proposal back to be reworked. However, the BJP did not support the move. The Congress leader claimed that, given the combined strength of the opposition and BJP, the proposal could have been defeated if the BJP had backed the sub-motion. He alleged the BJP’s walkout was mere “theatrics”, pretending to be opposed to the sale of public assets.