Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 | Mahayuti govt brought draft Housing Policy to benefit builders, alleges Aaditya Thackeray

Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Tuesday alleged that the state government intends to do cluster development in 'gaothans' and 'koliwadas' under the new draft Housing Policy to benefit builders.

Addressing a press conference here, he said the first decision that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will take after coming to power is to scrap this policy that is "designed by builders" and not by government officials.

Gaothans are original village settlements within the cities and koliwadas are areas along the coast and creeks where the fisherfolk, regarded as the natives of the city, reside.

He said the state government has extended the deadline of seeking suggestions and objections for the draft Housing Policy from October 3 to 31.

"Suggestions have been sought under the new draft policy for cluster development of gaonthans. This means the residents of koliwadas that are spread over acres will be stuffed into houses measuring in square feet," Thackeray said.

This will have an impact on the koliwadas in Colaba, Worli, Bandra, Sion, Dharavi, Juhu, Versova, Madh. The move will also hit the livelihood of fishermen, he alleged.

"The draft Housing Policy has been formulated to benefit builders. While the government says it plans to do cluster development, the prime land near sea will be given to builders," Thackeray said.

He also said the MVA government will insist on self-development rather than cluster development.

Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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