E-Paper
‘Housing jihad’: Shiv Sena alleges ‘plan' to change Mumbai’s demography
Shiv Sena's Sanjay Nirupam alleged that realtors were adding names of people from their community as beneficiaries and “changing the city's demography”.
The ruling Shiv Sena on Friday said “Muslim realty developers" were involved in what it called "housing jihad". Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Nirupam alleged that the realtors were adding names of people from their community to the list of beneficiaries of the slum redevelopment projects and “changing the city's demography”.
He alleged that such activities are being carried out in the western suburbs and other parts of Mumbai, such as Govandi, Mankhurd, Kurla, Saki Naka, and Bandra.
"There are 600 ongoing SRA projects, of which 10 per cent are Muslim builders, and all are involved in such work. The plan is to change the demography of the city in a big way. This is housing jihad," the former MP was quoted as saying by PTI.
Also Read | Maharashtra sets up committee to draft ‘love jihad’ law
Nirupam further said that he has written to Maharashtra deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, who heads the housing department and is also the president of the Shiv Sena, to probe the fraudulent activities.
The Shiv Sena spokesperson pointed out two housing projects in Oshiwara where he alleged that a “Hindu majority society was converted into a Muslim majority society”, according to PTI.
He claimed that in one of the housing societies, the Muslim developer handling the project fudged records and 19 structures were passed in one person's name.
Also Read | BJP ally Athawale opposes Maharashtra govt's 'love jihad' law plan: ‘It’s wrong to…'
The Slum Rehabilitation Authority is a state-run agency tasked with implementing slum rehabilitation projects in Mumbai. As per its rules, an eligible family is entitled to only one home.
However, in this housing society, a family was allotted 30 houses, the former MP maintained.
Nirupam also claimed that as per 2021 records, there were 45 huts which were eligible for rehabilitation in a locality in Oshiwara, but their number grew to 82 in 2022 and then to 95, reported PTI.
“Even electricity bills are fudged to include ineligible beneficiaries,” he claimed. He also alleged that one of the tenants in an SRA project is a Bangladeshi who is residing illegally in India.
