Congress leader and MLA in the Mumbai Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Amin Patel has demanded immediate completion of the Kamatipura Redevelopment Cluster Development through a notice seeking attention and issuance of work orders. He said that there are 16,000 buildings in Kamatipura, in which 25,000 residents live. The condition of these buildings is dilapidated and there is a risk of accidents during the monsoon. If an accident occurs in these buildings, the government and the MHA and the concerned agency will be responsible for it, so work needs to be started immediately. He said that Kamatipura area consists of a dense, multilingual, middle-class population living in several old and dilapidated buildings. There is a strong demand from the local residents for the immediate rehabilitation of these structures. The redevelopment and rehabilitation proposal has been submitted to the government through the Kamatipura Development Committee, and steps like appointment of a building contractor and issuing of tenders have been initiated. However, there is an urgent need to speed up the redevelopment process. A large number of buildings under the Prime Minister Grant Project (PMGP) are located in areas like Umar Khadi and Kamatipura. Due to incidents like roof collapse, water leakage and structural damage, residents are forced to live in dangerous conditions. Several meetings have been held at the government level to speed up the redevelopment, but no concrete steps have been taken yet. Areas like Dongri, Bhindi Bazaar, Paidhoni, Bholeshwar, Nal Bazaar, Kalba Devi, and Mohammad Ali Road are densely populated and have many old and unsafe buildings. There is an urgent need for MAHADA to conduct surveys, inspect illegal constructions and start redevelopment projects. However, due to shortage of staff in MAHADA, the process is getting delayed, leading to increasing dissatisfaction among the residents.

Deputy Chief Minister Housing Statement

Government Resolution dated 12th January 2023 under Development Control Regulation (DCR) 33(9) has been approved for cluster redevelopment of old and dilapidated cessed and non-cessed buildings in Kamatipura area by MAHADA. Under this project, around 734 buildings and 8,001 tenants/residents will be rehabilitated. In order to expedite the project, MAHADA was declared a Special Planning Authority through a government notification dated 9th July 2025.

Tenders were floated on 12th June 2025, and after due process, the contracts were awarded to Bhagirathi Housing Private Limited. Ltd. and Kamati Developers Private Limited. Further action is underway to issue work orders on 14 November 2025.

During 1989-1995, about 269 cessed buildings were reconstructed under the Prime Minister Grant Project (PMGP), resulting in the construction of 66 new buildings. For the renovation, the government approved Rs. 150 crore from the Maharashtra Housing Fund on 29 August 2024. Out of this, Rs. 12.80 crore has been approved for structural renovation of 12 buildings in Umar Khadi and Kamatipura areas, and the work is in progress.

A proposal for cluster redevelopment of 81 buildings in Umar Khadi area was submitted to MHADA on 3 December 2024. Meetings are being held to review the feasibility. The proposal for rehabilitation of 20 buildings was found to be unworkable, and the revised report of 36 buildings was submitted on 23 February 2026, which is under scrutiny.

Notices were issued to the building owners under Section 79(A) of the MHADA Act, 1976 for redevelopment proposals. However, the High Court stayed the proceedings on 28 July 2025 (Application No. 34771/2024). A committee comprising two retired judges has been appointed to review the notices. The matter is currently pending in the Supreme Court.

MHADA has appointed 64 structural auditors/architects to conduct structural stability audits of buildings in Mumbai. Moreover, recruitment is underway to fill the vacant posts in MHADA after the approval of the staff record on February 23, 2026. Minister of State Pankaj Bhoir said that work orders will be issued in a week and work will start in two months and a decision will be taken on this project as a vital project in a meeting with the Chief Minister, the Minister assured.

Mumbai: A total of 11 FIRs have been registered against impostor Ashok Kharat, including 6 cases of sexual assault. In this case, Kharat used to sexually exploit women by calling himself an incarnation of God and also threatened them to destroy their future by intimidating them. In this case too, the impostor had threatened the victim and also got her pregnancy aborted. Along with this, he had told the women during sexual exploitation that he was an incarnation of God, i.e. Shankar, and he purifies them, so she should keep her mouth shut. If she opens her mouth, there will be bad consequences. These kinds of details have been presented in the House by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

He said that details related to Ashok Kharat’s property have also been collected, along with this, an appeal has been made to the affected women to file a complaint against him without fear. This matter has been handed over to the SIT. Several important conclusions have also been made in its investigation. Fadnavis has made it clear that interrogation of these coordinators is also possible. The police and SIT teams are investigating on the basis of his mobile phone digital and other technical documents and are also finding out who was his guardian and who were involved in this. The involvement of ministers to senior officers cannot be denied. Therefore, the Chief Minister has made it clear that whoever is the coordinator will be questioned. Therefore, now after this announcement of the Chief Minister, the difficulties of the coordinators of the impostor have increased. In this matter, many important ministers including Rupali Chakankar, a follower of the impostor, and others are also likely to be questioned. The SIT has made many important progress in its investigation. Devendra Fadnavis has said that 58 videos and photos have also been recovered from Ashok Kharat’s pen drive and an investigation is underway regarding this. Along with this, other documents including the pen drive, mobile phone and his pistol have also been seized.

Thane: A shocking incident of violent assault has come to light from Thane’s Naupada area, where a man was allegedly attacked with a chopper after refusing to pay ‘vargani’ (a form of voluntary donation), sparking concern among local residents.

The attack reportedly took place near St. Anthony’s School in Naupada. A CCTV video of the incident, which has surfaced on social media, shows the accused entering a clothes shop and launching a brutal assault on the victim using a chopper.

In the video shared by the Instagram handle, the attacker can be seen striking the man, leaving him seriously injured. The motive, as mentioned in the caption accompanying the video, suggests that the assault was triggered after the victim refused to pay vargani.

Following the incident, the injured man was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment. His current condition has not been officially disclosed.

The Naupada Police have registered a case against the accused and are currently investigating the matter. Authorities have obtained the CCTV footage and are using it as key evidence to identify and track down the perpetrator. Police officials stated that further details will emerge as the investigation progresses.

The incident has triggered unease among residents in Thane, raising concerns over instances of alleged forced collections in the name of donations. Locals have expressed worry about safety, especially in commercial areas, and have called for stricter action against such acts of violence.

As investigations continue, authorities are expected to intensify efforts to ensure accountability and maintain public order in the area.

Incidents like this have raised growing concerns over the misuse of ‘vargani’ collections, which are often meant to be voluntary but are at times allegedly enforced through intimidation. Residents say such acts not only threaten public safety but also erode trust within communities, prompting calls for stricter monitoring and action against coercive practices.