The Trust—established for the construction and management of the grand memorial to Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray at the historic Mayor’s Bungalow premises in Shivaji Park, Dadar—was originally constituted in 2016. The new appointments come after the expiry of the previous five-year term on 11 March 2025, as mandated under the Trust’s Memorandum of Association and Rules & Regulations.

Background: Why the Reconstitution Was Needed

According to the GR, the previous Chairman Uddhav Thackeray had tendered his resignation on 25 November 2019, necessitating administrative adjustments. Additionally, the three-year tenure of the original appointed members had already concluded, and only ex-officio (Padvidhar) members continued by default.

In March 2020, the government had formally taken note of the required changes. Since the extended five-year tenure of the trustees ended in March 2025, the Trust required fresh appointments to continue the memorial’s ongoing development and legal processes.

New Appointments Approved

Under the new GR, the government has approved the following appointments:

Appointed Trustees

1. Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray – Former Chief Minister & MLC – Chairman (5-year term)
2. Subhash Rajaram Desai – Former Minister – Trustee (5-year term)
3. Aaditya Uddhav Thackeray – Former Minister & MLA – Trustee (5-year term)
4. Parag Alwani – MLA – Trustee (3-year term)
5. Shishir Shinde – Former MLA – Trustee (3-year term)

Ex-Officio (Padvidhar) Trustees

6. Chief Secretary, Maharashtra
7. Principal Secretary (UD–2), Urban Development Department
8. Principal Secretary (Law & Judiciary)
9. Commissioner, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation
10. Nominated Expert Member
11. Nominated Expert Member

Each of these members has been appointed to ensure the continued governance, compliance, and execution of the Trust’s objectives.

Administrative Directions Issued

The GR authorises Subhash Rajaram Desai, Secretary of the Trust, to carry out all statutory filings related to the new appointments. This includes:

• Updating records with the Charity Commissioner under the Mumbai Public Trusts Act, 1950
• Updating registration documents of the society under the Co-operative Societies Registration Act, 1960
• Ensuring necessary alignment with the Trust’s Memorandum of Association and Rules & Regulations

The government emphasised that the newly appointed board must function strictly in accordance with the Trust’s constitution.

Also Read: Shahid Balwa In Uddhav Govt’s Crucial Committee.

The post Fadnavis Govt Reconstitutes Balasaheb Thackeray Memorial Trust; Uddhav Thackeray Returns as Chairman Aaditya as Trustee appeared first on Square Feat India.

But let me clarfiy that this story isn’t about Matoshree. One of the Thackeray family members have sold a house in Kalanagar.

Documents exclusively accessed by SquareFeatIndia show that a flat in the building Shilpak Artek located in Kalanagar belonging to one of the Thackeray family was sold on April 13.

The Thackeray family that sold the house comprises of Nihar BinduMadhav Thackeray, Neha BinduMadhav Thackeray and Madhavi BinduMadhav Thackeray.

BinduMadhav Thackeray was the son of late Balasaheb Thackeray, Nihar and Neha are the children of BinduMadhav and Madhavi Thackeray.

Documents show that the flat was sold for a consideration of Rs 3.5 crore. The flat measures 1015 sq ft carpet and is located on the second floor of the building located in Kalanagar.

The buyer is Prithviraj Deshmukh, not much details are known about the buyer. A stamp duty of Rs 21 lakh was paid for the registration of the sale deed.

The current address of Nihar Thackeray reflects that of a building in Khar west. A detailed message sent to Nihar seeking his comment got us no response.

Also Read: Uddhav Govt takes back from Sunil Gavaskar 2,000 sq mt Bandra land

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By Varun Singh

Asia’s biggest slum Dharavi is all set for redevelopment, three developers have shown their interest in redeveloping this slum. Which has been waiting for a redevelopment for close to two decades.

The Global tender for redevelopment of Dharavi was floated by Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis Government on October 1, 2022. This after Uddhav Thackeray led MVA government’s cabinet in 2020 decided to cancel the tender for Dharavi Redevelopment that was floated by Devendra Fadnavis led government in 2018. Post which the MVA had even claimed that it shall float fresh tenders, but nothing much moved in that direction.

The tender floated by Devendra Fadnavis government in 2019 was the third time the tenders were floated for Dharavi Redevelopment. The first two times the tender was floated when Congress-NCP were in power.

In August 2020, the Committee of Secretaries (CoS) met to take a call on the Dharavi Redevelopment tender. The committee suggested cancelling the tender, and they proposed the same to the state government which finally took a call on it.

The CoS had relied its suggestion on the advice by the Advocate General (AG), who advised for fresh tenders. After floating the tender and receiving bids, the state government acquired 46 acres of land for Rs 800 crore from the Railway. Post acquiring this land and making it a part of the Redevelopment Project, the advice from the AG was sought, who advised for fresh tenders.
Global tenders were floated in November 2018, for the Dharavi Redeveloper Project.

Now coming to the three bidders, the three bidder for redevelopment of Dharavi are Adani, DLF and Naman. SVR Srinivas, the head of Dharavi Redevelopment Project, confirmed the same to SquareFeatIndia.

Envelope A has been opened, this envelope contains the names of the bidders, the technical bid, in envelope B will be open and those who pass this scrutiny, then envelope C which is the financial bid will be opened and the successful bidder fulfilling all the criteria will be declared as the winner.

Dharavi is spread over 240 hectare of land and is centrally located. It is close to Bandra Kurla Complex, the financial hub of Mumbai.

In January 2019, Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP) had received two tenders of which Seclink group was the frontrunner for the redevelopment of Dharavi which, according to reports, had quoted Rs 7,200 crore. The total project cost was estimated to be above Rs 27,000 crore.

The post One of these Three Developers will Redevelop Dharavi appeared first on Square Feat India.

Devendra Fadnavis when came back to power with Eknath Shinde he started work on Dharavi Redevelopment. Finally on Wednesday the government led by Eknath Shinde and Fadnavis, on Wednesday decided that fresh global tenders will be floated for Dharavi’s redevelopment.

The cabinet announced that tenders for the redevelopment of Asia’s biggest slum Dharavi will be floated. This will be the fourth time that Dharavi will see a Redevelopment tender being floated.

Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis in August had held a meeting in this regard at the Mantralaya. He even met the Mumbai Metropolitan Commissioner SVR Srinivas who also is the chief officer of Dharavi Redevelopment Project.

So when is the tender being floated and who better than SVR Srinivas, CEO, Dharavi Redevelopment Project to answer this question. According to Srinivas, the global tender will be floated soon, a senior official said that within three week from now, the global tenders will be floated in most likelihood. The tenders can be floated by mid-October before Diwali.

According to Srinivas, the tender will have almost 95% same contents as the earlier one and it shall be a global tender.

The government had said that it will give a few concessions in the forthcoming tender.

Even the railway land issue has been resolved, and it will be part of the tender.

Dharavi Redevelopment has been in process for a pretty long time. For more than a decade, the residents of one of the biggest slums in the World have been awaiting that their future shall change.

While not much has happened on ground, the government has already spent crores on the process of Dharavi Redevelopment.

Uddhav Thackeray led MVA government’s cabinet in 2020 decided to cancel the tender for Dharavi Redevelopment that was floated by Devendra Fadnavis led government in 2018. Post which the MVA had even claimed that it shall float fresh tenders, but nothing much moved in that direction.

The tender floated by Devendra Fadnavis government in 2019 was the third time the tenders were floated for Dharavi Redevelopment. The first two times the tender was floated when Congress-NCP were in power.

In August 2020, the Committee of Secretaries (CoS) met to take a call on the Dharavi Redevelopment tender. The committee suggested cancelling the tender, and they proposed the same to the state government which finally took a call on it.

The CoS had relied its suggestion on the advice by the Advocate General (AG), who advised for fresh tenders. After floating the tender and receiving bids, the state government acquired 46 acres of land for Rs 800 crore from the Railway. Post acquiring this land and making it a part of the Redevelopment Project, the advice from the AG was sought, who advised for fresh tenders.
Global tenders were floated in November 2018, for the Dharavi Redeveloper Project.

Dharavi is spread over 240 hectare of land and is centrally located. It is close to Bandra Kurla Complex, the financial hub of Mumbai.

In January 2019, Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP) had received two tenders of which Seclink group was the frontrunner for the redevelopment of Dharavi which, according to reports, had quoted Rs 7,200 crore. The total project cost was estimated to be above Rs 27,000 crore.

Also Read: Devendra Fadnavis Puts Dharavi Redevelopment back on track

The post Maha Govt to float tenders for Dharavi Redevelopment for the 4th time appeared first on Square Feat India.

If all goes as planned then Vastu Cnetral, the building located in the silent bylanes of Dadar west, may soon become one of the busiest buildings in the neighbourhood. 

The building located hardly 500 meters from Shiv Sena Bhawan on the G North Office road, may become the Headquarters of the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde. According to a senior party functionary from Shinde camp, two floors in the building is what the Shinde camp is eyeing and for the same negotiations are in final stages.

When contacted Sada Sarvankar, Shiv Sena MLA from Mahim, now a member of Shinde camp he confirmed that they have finalised a party office within the vicinity of Dadar-Prabhadevi area, and it would be close to 15,000 sq ft. However, Sarvankar refused to divulge the name of the building citing that negotiations were in the final stage and will be registered before Pitrapaksha. Pitrapaksh will begin on September 1

A senior leader from the Shiv Sena led by Shinde said that they were in talks for three different locations of which one has been finalised and it is Vastu Central. “The two floors measuring around 15,000 sq ft are finalised and negotiations are in the last stage.” 

The building is hardly 500 meters and three minutes walking distance from Shiv Sena bhawan and is just behind the Kohinoor Square building. This is ground plus five storey building and the ground and first floor are completely vacant, and connected by an internal staircase, the second floor is occupied by small offices and a clinic, the third floor has a cooperative bank, whereas the fourth and fifth floor has offices, but hard to make out whether they were operational. 

The office that the Shinde Sena is planning to occupy will be on rent and not an outright purchase. According to a real estate broker from the Shivaji Park area, the ongoing rent in the area is between Rs 140-145 sq ft, whereas buildings like that of Kohinoor and The Ruby Mill demand a premium and have a higher rental. 

When asked Sarvankar if the building where the office will come up be called Sena Bhawan, Sarvankar refuted the claim and said it will be a regular party office which they want for administration purposes. 

This reporter visited the office of the developer at the same building but couldn’t find anyone, the security informed that the developers visits the building.

Also Read: All about Patra Chawl, Sanjay Raut & ED

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As a journalist who has covered Mumbai and it’s real estate sector for close to two decades, whenever I hear Patra Chawl, otherwise known as Siddharth Nagar, the faces of hundreds of residents flash in front of me. Today I write again as Patra Chawl has become the major reason for ED knocking the doors of Sanjay Raut.

In the last one decade or more, many residents of Patra Chawl located in Mumbai’s Goregaon area have contacted me, to write their ordeal and I did too. Let’s go back in history, almost 15 years ago, in 2008 MHADA got into a tri-partie agreement with a private developer named Guru Ashish Constructions and the tenants society comprising of 672 tenants of the Chawl.

Spread over 47 acre of land, the builder who turned greedy, instead of rehabilitating the tenants started looking for his personal profits, he started selling the saleable portions first, including selling FSI belonging to the land was sold to 9 different developers.

Meanwhile, severs tenants started approaching MHADA as by 2014 as rents to many of them had stopped. For those out of Mumbai, and reading this when a developer takes over a redevelopment project he pays rent to the society members till he has constructed and hands over them the possession of their house.

Reports suggest that since ED started it’s investigation it found that Pravin Raut, an alleged close associate of Sanjay Raut, and also of some directors of Guru Ashish Constructions had started misleading MHADA within a few years of the agreement. It is pegged that Pravin Raut allegedly sold the floor space index (FSI) to nine private developers, collecting Rs 901.79 crore. The developer is allowed to sell the FSI no doubt but only after he has constructed and rehabilitated the tenants and in this case since 2008 till date the tenants are awaiting their homes.

Most tenants hail from middle class community and have been actually suffering because they lost their home to a developer who had promised them rent and a home back. However, they received none. I wouldn’t be wrong to say that most of these tenants hail from the Maharashtrian community, of which Sanjay Raut claims to be the biggest leader of.

Coming back to Sanjay Raut reports further claim that ED has stated that Pravin Raut an alleged close aide of Sanjay Raut received Rs 100 crore from real estate company and then it was allegedly diverted to various accounts of his alleged close associates, and even family members. Sanjay Raut’s name has already featured as his alleged close aide several times now.

Another report suggests that ED has alleged that as early as 2010 just two years of the agreement, Rs 83 lakh, was allegedly transferred to Sanjay Raut’s wife Varsha Raut, who apparently used the money to buy a flat in Dadar.

The other allegation is that around eight plots of land were purchased at Alibaug in the name of Varsha Raut and another woman Swapna Patkar. The last name may ring a bell, for that go to twitter and look for it.

The builder who was only interested in profit had even allegedly duped several home buyers, by selling them homes in the building.

It is believed that the Patra Chawl scam is of no less than Rs 1000 crore and is a classic example of making the poor common citizens suffer and the nexus of Politicians-Builder-Babu who made hoards of money.

The investigation should also move in the offices of MHADA and those officials who were suppose to be accountable to get these tenants a home but failed.

Earlier this year, MHADA, the state’s housing body had announced that it will be constructing homes for the 672 tenants of Siddharth Nagar or Patra Chawl and give them homes measuring 650 square feet. The inauguration programme for the same was attended by then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and NCP chief Sharad Pawar. Sanjay Raut is undoubtedly close to both of them.

Also Read: Sanjay Raut’s Property Attached by ED

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By Varun Singh

The Uddhav Thackeray led MVA government has cancelled the allotment of a land parcel that was allotted to cricketer Sunil Gavaskar.

A government resolution issued by the state government’s Housing department a copy of which is available with SquareFeatIndia says, that the land allotment has been cancelled.

According to the GR, a 2,000 square meter land was allotted to Sunil Gavaskar by the government in the Bandra Reclamation area, belonging to MHADA.

This piece of land was allotted to cricketer Sunil Gavaskar for starting an indoor cricket training centre.

The GR further states that as per a letter from The Sunil Gavaskar Cricket Foundation dated April 5, 2022, the government was of the intent to cancel the allotment of the land provided to Sunil Gawaskar.

A multi-facility sports centre with indoor and outdoor facilities was to be built here.

The GR dated, June 23, finally came out with a resolution that stated, as per the request of Sunil Gavaskar the allotment stands cancelled.

The government has asked MHADA to take over the land and also directed them to recover whatever amount is pending.

The Uddhav Thackeray government has been facing a lot of trouble for the last few days and it has been criticised by various camps for taking several decision in a haste and issuing several GRs too.

This GR has also come out when the government is under a political turmoil, and it isn’t clear whether this government will survive or go.

The Eknath Shinde camp which has 40 Shiv Sena rebel MLAs is wanting Uddhav Thackeray to ally with the BJP and form government and leave the NCP and Congress led MVA government. Hopefully things will be clear soon.

Also Read: Rebel ShivSena MLA Sandipan Bhumare Wins a Home in MHADA lottery

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By Varun Singh

This news is not related to politics, but interesting real estate story because it’s related to politics.

Let me tell you that MHADA last week concluded the lottery of 1204 tenements and plots in Aurangabad.

For these available homes MHADA received more than 11,000 applications.

Sandipanrao Bhumare the ShivSena MLA from Paithan currently lodged in Guwahati hotel along with the rebel MLAs was also one of the applicants.

Finally the lottery was held last week for these homes and while Bhumare is in Guwahati he has managed to win the lottery.

Here’s the details of the home that Sandipanrao Bhumare won in the lottery.

The home that he won is located in Chikhal Thane, Aurangabad and he has applied in the Lower Income Group Category. The quota in which the rebel Sena MLA won the house is the MP/MLA quota.

When contacted Bhumare over the phone, he said,”I will handover the home back to MHADA, I had just applied for the lottery and do not need this home.”

Bhumare along with other 38 ShivSena rebel MLAs has decided to join the Eknath Shinde camp which wants Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to breakaway from the MVA Alliance.

Since Monday night Maharashtra is facing a political crisis and the ShivSena has seen a major turmoil.

With close to 39 MLAs from ShivSena siding with Eknath Shinde the Uddhav Thackeray camp is going thin every passing day.

The BJP apparently is behind the entire rebellion, however, they aren’t coming out in open, though the MLAs chose both BJP state Gujarat and Assam to rebel.

The lottery news is a good news for Sanipanrao Bhumare who is currently in Guwahati let’s see when he return.

Also Read: Govt changes income slabs for EWS, LIG, MIG and HIG for MHADA Lottery

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By Varun Singh

Rarely you see a politician acknowledging the fact of builder-politician nexus. However, minister Aaditya Thackeray not only acknowledged it, but also said Politician and builder nexus should be seen positively.

Aaditya Thackeray was speaking at an event in Mumbai organised by NAREDCO an apex body of real estate developers across the country.

According to a tweet by ANI, Thackeray said, “There is a politician-builder nexus but it should be seen positively. We’ve been able to reduce stamp duty and premiums because of this nexus. Politicians and developers sell common things. We both sell hopes and dreams.”

According to Thackeray, politicians and developers sell common things and this common thing is hopes and dreams.

He also claimed that it was because of the builder politician nexus that the stamp duty and premiums (that builders pay to the BMC), was reduced because of this nexus.

The common public has always been aware about such a nexus, but rarely anyone spoke about it, even politicians rarely spoke about it, however, this would be the first time a politician and that too a minister in the current state government openly spoke about the politicians and developers nexus.

Also Read: Shahid Balwa In Uddhav Govt’s Crucial Committee.

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By Varun Singh

The decision to submit a proposal for allotment of land for the temple at Ulwe in Navi Mumbai to the world famous Tirupati Tirumala Devasthan has been taken at a meeting of the Board of Directors of CIDCO.

The land will be allotted for the construction of a temple by the Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanam to make it easier for devotees in Maharashtra to take darshan of Shri Venkateswara.

Urban Development Minister Eknath Shinde, and Tourism Minister Aditya Thackeray had instructed CIDCO to send the proposal to the Government for approval with the approval of the Board of CIDCO.

It is not possible for everyone to visit Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh to pay homage to lord Venkateswara. For such devotees in Maharashtra and especially in Mumbai Metropolitan Region, The Shri. Tirupati Tirumala Devasthan was repeatedly requesting the state government to build a temple for Lord Venkateswara.

In this connection, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthan President Subba Reddy wrote a letter on 27 February 2022 requesting approval for construction of a temple near Navi Mumbai International Airport, which is being constructed in Navi Mumbai. After which, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had instructed CIDCO to take action.

Subba Reddy, President, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthan, Dharma Reddy, Additional Chief Officer, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthan, Trinamool Tirupati Devasthan Trustee Milind Narvekar and Saurabh Bora actually inspected the available plots in Navi Mumbai. After that, in the meeting held at Varsha, it was discussed to choose a suitable plot for the temple from the available options.

Accordingly, the land in Ulwe Node, which is close to the upcoming international airport and has good connectivity with the cities around Navi Mumbai, has been identified. Approximately 10 acres of land will be allotted to the Tirupati Tirumala Devasathan.

The plot is part of a plot allotted by CIDCO to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) on a live and license basis for a casting yard under the MTHL project. At the request of CIDCO, MMRDA has approved the re-possession of the allotted land to CIDCO. The plot will be acquired by CIDCO in phases from March to September 2023.

Also Read: CIDCO to launch schemes for the sale of plots, tenements and commercial shops on Gudi Padwa

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