CM Shinde slams Thackeray over march against Adani Group, questions their motive

CM Shinde was responding to the allegations made during the march led by Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad, and NCP Mumbai chief Rakhi Jadhav on Saturday from T-junction in Dharavi to the headquarters of Adani Realty in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC)

Mumbai: A day after the opposition parties held a morcha against Eknath Shinde-led government for handing over the Dharavi redevelopment project to an Adani Group firm, chief minister Eknath Shinde slammed Shiv Sena (UBT) for being ‘anti-development’.

Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde (Anshuman Poyrekar/ Hindustan Times)

He alleged corruption as a motive behind the decision by the erstwhile Uddhav Thackeray government to scrap the successful bid of Seclink Technology Corporation for the Dharavi redevelopment project in 2020.

The chief minister alleged that their deal might have been broken with the firm.

CM Shinde was responding to the allegations made during the march led by Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad, and NCP Mumbai chief Rakhi Jadhav on Saturday from T-junction in Dharavi to the headquarters of Adani Realty in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC).

Thackeray called the redevelopment project, which involves TDR (transferable development rights) irregularities worth more than ₹100 crore, which is the “biggest scam in the world.”

Adani Realty has refuted all the allegations.

In January 2019, the Seclink Consortium emerged as the highest bidder, but the bid process was eventually scrapped. A fresh tender was floated by the Thackeray-led MVA government, with several changes in the financial and technical eligibility, which Adani Realty won as the highest bidder.

“Why did you scrap Seclink’s contract if you are opposed to Adani? Why was it opposed then? The deal (Seclink) might have been broken; thus, it may have happened,” the chief minister charged in response to Thackeray’s frontal attack on his government.

CM Shinde called Shiv Sena (UBT) an “anti-development party” and said, that they have been opposing projects, such as Aarey carshed for the Metro 3 line, Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Expressway. “They have always tried to stop development projects, but the government will support Dharavi residents. No individual will be allowed to get benefit out of it except the residents,” he remarked, extending support to the Dharavi redevelopment project, adding that Dharavi is the biggest slum in Asia and people living there need better conditions and facilities.

The redevelopment project aims at converting the world’s largest slum into a modern city hub and resettling its 1 million residents.