Maharashtra
Navi Mumbai: Houses Under PM Awas Yojana Built On Mangrove Zones, Greens Complain To PM Modi
The houses built by the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) under Prime Minister’s Awas Yojana (PMAY) in Navi Mumbai have violated the environmental conditions and mangrove buffer zones, Green groups have complained to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The PMAY projects, particularly in Mansarovar and Kharghar, areas have come up in proximity of mangroves, mudflats and inter-tidal wetlands, the complaint filed by NatConnect Foundation on PMO Public Grievance website, said.
The status report on the website says the complaint has been referred to the Director in the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Arvind Kumar Agrawal. NatConnect attached the recent Google Earth picture and actual ground photographs to fortify its case.
“The compound wall of the Kharghar project, on the northern side of the railway station, almost touches the mangroves with the distance between the sea plants and the project being 8 metres to 25 metres,” Director of the NatConnect Foundation, B N Kumar said and argued that this is in violation of both the central and state clearances given for the projects.
When contacted, a senior CIDCO official said, “We have not defied any CRZ norms since we received environmental clearance for the project on July 8, 2020. It is on the basis of transit-oriented development (TOD). The work on the project started in November, 2020 and was delayed a bit due to Covid-19 pandemic. The revised date of completion of the project is 2025.”
Providing details of the project, the official said the project is RERA registered having 17 towers with 2BHK flats consisting of RERA carpet area of 47.277 sq mtr. The beneficiaries of the apartments would be decided through a lottery system or as per the decision of the management.
The environmental clearance summary, issued by the MoEF&CC clearly stated that no mangroves should be affected during construction of the entire project and that the 50-meter buffer line has to be maintained. There is supposed to be thick vegetation of tall trees with foliage along the buffer line to mitigate any fugitive dust emission etc. towards the mangrove area.
The 143rd meeting of the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) held on February 4, 2020 clearly noted that the projects were partly under CRZ1 and hence CIDCO was prohibited from doing any construction in the 50 mtr mangrove buffer zone and to maintain a 100 mtr CRZ setback for the creek. “However, the Kharghar project presents a worrying scene as the PMAY buildings have come up in the danger line,” Kumar said.
Jyoti Nadkarni of Kharghar Hills and Wetland Forum said, “The compound wall will push the high tide line towards the Panvel creek and this is bound to cause flooding in other areas as water finds its own course and does not go by CIDCO walls.”
“What is even more shocking is that the urban planners in all their wisdom appear to be constructing housing colonies into the sea at a time when the rising sea levels has become a major global concern,” she added.
The environmental clearances have been given post the state mangrove cell visits and with conditions that the mangrove zones should not be impacted. The environmentalists, therefore, call for a thorough on-the-spot inquiry and taking measures to save the people and properties.
“Afterall, it is the tax-payers’ hard earned money that goes as subsidies into the PMAY project,” NatConnect said and offered to accompany the probe teams and point out the violations.
Maharashtra
Public representatives have high confidence in Shinde’s work, Uddhav Thackeray MPs did not have confidence in his leadership: Milind Deora

Shiv Sena leader and Rajya Sabha MP Milind Deora strongly criticised the absence of several MPs from the Uddhav Thackeray faction meeting. He said that only the UBT leadership can answer why UBT MPs did not attend the meeting called by his party. He said that the members who were absent from the meeting lacked faith in their party leadership. Deora said that today the people and public representatives have faith in the work and leadership of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Eknath Shinde sahib works to strengthen the hands of those who trust in Shinde sahib’s leadership. Targeting Sanjay Raut, Milind Deora said that he is not aware of parliamentary traditions and rules. Other UBT MPs should understand what kind of meetings are held and what are the whip rules. On the issue of whip, Deora said that whip is issued only for voting in the House, not for attending any political meeting. This is a parliamentary rule and those who have been members for years should be aware of it. Milind Deora further said that Sanjay Raut sometimes abuses his own MPs, sometimes claims that all MPs are with him, sometimes says that his MPs were given money, and sometimes accuses MPs of corruption. This reflects his contradictory behavior. Sanjay Raut insulted his own MPs. With such behavior, who would want to work with him? He said that no leader has any faith left in the UBT leadership. Public representatives want their leader to be available to them. That is why many leaders still want to work under the leadership of Eknath Shinde. Shiv Sena welcomes anyone who wants to work for the development of their area. Our aim is not to weaken anyone but to strengthen the people. Finally, Deora said that the UBT leadership needs to examine itself instead of blaming others. I can only wish them well.
Maharashtra
Mumbai Municipal Corporation and Customs Department sign MoU for conservation and restoration of Mahim Fort

The vision of the conservation and restoration of the Mumbai Mahim Fort is to revive its historical beauty. Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide said that it is a matter of pride and honour that the Municipal Corporation is preserving this fort. An MoU was signed between the Mumbai Municipal Corporation and the Customs Department today (June 18, 2026) at the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Headquarters for the conservation and restoration work of Mahim Fort, which has been declared a State Protected Monument.
Additional Municipal Commissioner (City) Dr. Ashwini Joshi, Principal Commissioner of Customs Department Shri Ajay Kumar Pandey, Additional Commissioner of Customs Department Nitin Tagde, Vikram Phadke, Deputy Commissioner (Commissioner Office) of Mumbai Municipal Corporation Prashant Gaikwad, Deputy Commissioner (South Zone) Prashant Gaikwad, Assistant Commissioner (South Zone) Prashant Gaikwad were also present on the occasion. Yogesh Desai, Advisor on Conservation of Ancient Heritage Vikas Dilawari, Dr. K. K. Sangle, Head of the Department of Structural Engineering, Virmata Jijabai Institute of Technology, etc. were present on the occasion.
As per the directions of Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide, the conservation and preservation of ancient structures in Mumbai is being done under the guidance of Additional Municipal Commissioner (City) Dr. Ashwini Joshi. On this basis, the Municipal Corporation has taken the initiative to conserve and revive the Mahim Fort.
Under this agreement, the dilapidated structure of Mahim Fort will be strengthened and reconstructed. The historical well present in the fort area will be searched and excavated. A pedestrian path will be made all around the interior of the fort. In addition, a protective wall will also be constructed to protect the foundation of the fort. Rs 20 crore has also been allocated for this. Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide said that the Municipal Corporation’s G (North) Department has removed the encroachments on the Mahim Fort and rehabilitated the local residents. So now help will be given to restore the glory of this fort. Additional Municipal Commissioner (City) Dr. Ashwini Joshi said that the Municipal Corporation has made great efforts to remove the encroachments on the Mahim Fort, which is a historical and ancient heritage, and to preserve it. Now the administration is planning to develop this fort as a tourist destination.
Principal Commissioner of the Customs Department Ajay Kumar Pandey said that apart from being a historical heritage, Mahim Fort is known as the customs station of the Customs Department. The conservation and restoration work undertaken by the Municipal Corporation will make this fort famous. Also, this fort will develop as a tourist destination for Mumbaikars. Mahim is an ancient fort and the descendants of Raja Bimbadev built this fort around the 12th and 13th centuries. Mahim was the main centre of power among the seven islands of Mumbai and this fort is a symbol of that glorious history. The Maharashtra government declared Mahim Fort as a state protected monument in 1975. The total area of the fort is about 3,796.02 sq m. Currently, the fort is under the jurisdiction of the Customs Department. The existing structure of Mahim Fort was encroached upon in the form of slums. After surveying the entire area, proper documents were verified and 275 slums have been rehabilitated in flats available for project victims in Kurla and Malad. However, the restoration of a religious structure is underway.
The restoration and conservation work of the fort is proposed to be carried out under the guidance of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation’s G (North) Division Office, Customs Department, Advisor on Conservation of Ancient Cultural Heritage Vikas Dilawari and Dr. Sangal K. Jijabai, Head of the Structural Engineering Department of Veermata.
Maharashtra
Operation Tiger rebel MPs in Maharashtra should be disqualified: Abu Asim Azmi

Mumbai: Talking about the ongoing Operation Tiger of Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, Samajwadi Party Mumbai/Maharashtra state president and MLA Abu Asim Azmi said, “Today’s public representatives, leaders, and workers are no longer guided by ideology, they have become greedy. Those who take the votes of the people and then change parties of their own accord, their positions should be declared null and void.” Abu Asim Azmi further said that if someone contests elections on behalf of a party, he is provided with the party’s flag, banner, symbol and money. Workers are working day and night to ensure the victory of their candidate. Those representatives are elected on the basis of the party’s ideology, and people agree with this ideology, so they vote for them. However, after victory, they rebel against the party. A law should be made that if a candidate joins another party after winning, his position should be declared null and void. Taking a dig at the BJP, he said that the BJP is trying to lure, intimidate and It misuses power to intimidate and bring them into its party. If they do not join, they are sent to jail like Kejriwal and Sanjay Singh, but they were proven innocent. The BJP has tried to create a rift in other parties, which is why many parties have been split into two.
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