IHCL Signs Pact for Rs 60-Crore Resort in Sindhudurg's Shiroda and Velagar

Maharashtra's coastal Sindhudurg district is set to receive its first five-star hotel after a landmark tripartite agreement was signed on Tuesday for a luxury resort spanning the coastal villages of Shiroda and Velagar. The Indian Hotels Company Ltd agreed to pay Rs 1.44 crore per hectare directly to local landowning families, ending a 32-year stalemate.

The agreement was signed at Mantralaya between the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation, IHCL, and the Shirorda-Velagar Landowners' Co-operative Society Ltd. The signing took place in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and Tourism Minister Shambhuraj Desai.

Under the deal, IHCL, which operates Taj Hotels, will develop the luxury resort across a 54.40-hectare land parcel. The total financial outlay for the land acquisition settlement stands at Rs 60 crore, which IHCL will disburse to local landowning families across three structured phases. In the first phase, Rs 34.41 crore will be released for 23.88 hectares of land designated as Plot-B1.

The project site in Shiroda and Velagar is situated approximately 45 minutes from Sindhudurg Airport in Chipi and an hour away from Goa's Manohar International Airport in Mopa.

The proposal for a premium tourist resort in the area was initially floated in 1994 when the Sindhudurg District Collector acquired private land alongside government-held land on behalf of the MTDC. However, the project remained stalled for three decades due to socio-political friction, bureaucratic delays, and opposition from local landowners over inadequate compensation frameworks under earlier public acquisition processes.

The deadlock began to shift after local families organized into the Shirorda-Velagar Landowners' Co-operative Society Ltd to negotiate collective terms. State Tourism Minister Shambhuraj Desai later granted in-principle approval to the tripartite framework in December 2025. The MTDC Board of Directors formally approved the property terms at its 177th meeting on April 28, followed by State Cabinet approval on June 30.

Beyond direct land payouts, the agreement includes provisions for local employment and capacity building. Eligible project-affected persons and local residents will receive hiring priority at the resort, while IHCL will conduct vocational hospitality training programs for local youth.