Mumbai: In our previous report, we explained how corrupt officials and builders are colluding to sell homes meant for poor footpath dwellers to the rich. After the Mumbai Press report, the government authorities took action, and a team of BMC officers arrived at the AM Residency in Mazgaon. Afterward, a man named Sheru started misleading the higher authorities. According to the information received, the honest builder of AM Residency, Salim Motorwala, in his statement, informed BMC officials that he had given homes in his complex to all 20 slum dwellers and had shown the allotment letters for all 20 homes to the BMC officials. However, he did not mention that only the allotment letters were given, and the actual homes were not provided. Later, Motorwala’s company transferred the ownership of those homes to the names of his relatives, making them the owners.

However, BMC’s final report is still pending, which will decide whether Motorwala’s group gets a clean chit or the poor slum dwellers receive homes.

Now, let us explain why all the Muslim leaders have remained silent spectators in the AM Residency case.

According to government documents, the 3,596 square meter land of AM Residency in Mazgaon was under the Maharashtra Waqf Board. This land was leased by the Maharashtra Collector to the Dawood Bhai Musa Bhai Jariwala Charity Trust for 99 years, so that the trust could serve the poor Muslims. The actual ownership of this land remained with the Maharashtra government, which gave it to the trust for 99 years, starting from 1882 and ending in 1978. After 1978, the trust and the Waqf Board were supposed to return the land to the Maharashtra government. However, it is rare in India that government land is returned honestly to the government. The same happened with this land. The trust and the Waqf Board kept their claim on the land, and in 2009, about 30 years later, the Waqf Board illegally gave this land to Salim Motorwala and his associate Suhail Khadir for redevelopment. In doing so, they seized thousands of crores of government property. This land had been allocated for building schools, colleges, or hospitals for Muslims, but the trust and Waqf Board kept the land unused for 99 years and then sold it to builders at throwaway prices, after taking bribes.

When Mumbai Press informed the Collector of Mumbai about this, he was shocked because he was unaware that the Waqf had sold the land to builders instead of returning it to the government, and the builders were constructing homes on it and selling them to Muslims for crores of rupees. Mumbai Press then informed Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who ordered an inquiry into the matter. When Mumbai Press tried to ask Salim Motorwala why, despite being a devout Muslim, he took control of Waqf property that was meant for the welfare of Muslims, he avoided commenting on the matter and did not provide any response.

New Delhi, March 7: Declining to interfere with the Bombay High Court’s ‘justified’ decision, the Supreme Court on Friday refused to put a brake on the ongoing construction work for the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP) in Mumbai by the Adani Group.

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Justice P.V. Sanjay Kumar refused to overturn the High Court’s December 2024 decision in favour of the Adani Group.

The apex court also declined an oral plea by UAE-based Seclink Technologies Corporation for a status quo order on the project.

The CJI-led bench remarked orally that the High Court’s decision — upholding the tender awarded to Adani Properties Private Limited — was justified as the railway line would also be developed and incorporated into the project.

The apex court also issued notice to the Maharashtra government and Adani Properties on the petition filed by Seclink Technologies challenging the Maharashtra government’s decision to cancel its 2019 bid for the redevelopment of Dharavi slums and issue a fresh tender in 2022 to Adani.

In December 2024, the High Court’s division bench of Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar dismissed a petition filed by Seclink Technologies, saying: “The grounds raised in the petition lack force and effort. The challenge to the government’s action of cancelling the earlier tender and issuing a fresh tender award fails.”

On Friday, the Supreme Court heard Seclink’s plea after it proposed to increase its offer of Rs 7,200 crore for the project by 20 per cent.

The apex court then ordered Seclink to file an affidavit on its proposal and listed the matter for hearing on May 25.

Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Adani, argued that equipment worth hundreds of crores of rupees had already been purchased by the company, after which the apex court ordered it to maintain an escrow account for all the payments.

The Adani Group had emerged as the highest bidder for the 259-hectare Dharavi Redevelopment Project and bagged it with its Rs 5,069-crore offer in the 2022 tender process conducted by the state government.

In the first tender issued in 2019, the petitioner company had emerged as the highest bidder with its Rs 7,200-crore offer.

Later, the Eknath Shinde government cancelled the 2019 tender and issued a fresh one in 2022 with additional conditions. The state government decided to include 45 acres of railway land in the project for slum rehabilitation, an element not included in the original proposal.

Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni had recommended that the state government issue a new tender to reflect the changes and incorporate factors like the costs of acquiring this land.

Dharavi, one of the world’s largest slums, is spread over 2.8 sq km of prime land near the central business district of Bandra-Kurla Complex. The Dharavi redevelopment plan seeks to replace the existing informal settlements with modern housing, infrastructure, and commercial spaces.

Mumbai: State Industry Minister Uday Samant on Friday announced in the Assembly that the government will work on the ring road in two phases and farmers will be compensated for their land at a competitive rate to ease opposition to land acquisition. Ring road work in Bhiwandi has been stalled since 2017 due to delay in land acquisition.

On Friday, Samajwadi Party MLA Rais Shaikh raised the issue of the 60-km-long ring road passing through the Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation area in the Assembly.

“The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority had sanctioned Rs 201 crore for this road in 2017. Land acquisition has been completed in three of the nine villages, but farmers of six villages are against land acquisition. Bhiwandi city has a population of 1.7 million and the ring road should be constructed as soon as possible to avoid traffic congestion,” Shaikh said. He further suggested that Bhiwandi farmers should get compensation for their land on the lines of the Samruddhi Mahamarg project. “This will reduce opposition to land acquisition in six villages and the work will be able to proceed.” Besides, construction of the ring road should be started immediately in the three villages where land has already been acquired. The remaining work of the ring road should be started in the second phase after land acquisition, so that the project is completed on time.

Responding to this, Industry Minister Uday Samant said that unlike Samruddhi Highway, compensation cannot be given for land acquisition in Bhiwandi. However, compensation for land acquisition in the remaining villages will be given at competitive market rates. The 60-km long ring road project will be completed in two phases. Instructions will be issued to MMRDA immediately in this regard.