NMMC Halts Ghansoli Cluster Redevelopment Project Amid BJP-Shinde Sena Rift
The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) General Body passed a resolution to seek a review of the state's Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulations (UDCPR) and temporarily halted further action on the proposed cluster redevelopment of Simplex Colony in Ghansoli. The decision follows growing political differences between coalition allies, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), over urban renewal policies in CIDCO-developed colonies.
The confrontation escalated during the General Body meeting after Forest Minister Ganesh Naik publicly opposed the implementation of cluster redevelopment in CIDCO-built colony areas. While the state government under Urban Development Minister Eknath Shinde had approved increased Floor Space Index (FSI) and the cluster redevelopment framework to facilitate urban renewal, local BJP leaders raised objections against imposing these policies uniformly.
During the council meeting, BJP Leader of the House Sagar Naik stated that the party was not opposed to building redevelopment but objected to the blanket implementation of UDCPR and unnecessary cluster redevelopment. He warned that indiscriminate application of the regulations could place severe pressure on civic infrastructure in Navi Mumbai. BJP corporator Suraj Patil also clarified that the party's objection was targeted specifically at the cluster approach rather than individual building reconstruction.
The resolution passed by the General Body directs the civic administration to submit a representation to the Maharashtra state government requesting a formal reconsideration of the UDCPR rules. All further executive and administrative steps regarding the Simplex Colony cluster proposal in Ghansoli have been suspended until the state government renders a decision on the matter.
Shiv Sena corporators strongly resisted the BJP’s position during the session, accusing their alliance partner of adopting a biased stance that could adversely affect Mathadi workers living in the colony. Local corporators Dipali Sakpal and Vaishali Maskar demanded that existing hurdles in the redevelopment of the Mathadi workers' colony be cleared immediately. Opposition leader Vijay Chougule alleged that the ruling side was deliberately stalling the proposal, while Sena corporator Kishor Patkar warned that the ruling faction would be held responsible if any structural accident occurred in the aging residential complex.
With the NMMC resolution now submitted to the state government, the response from the Urban Development department is expected to decide the future of the Simplex Colony project in Ghansoli and set the policy framework for future cluster redevelopment across Navi Mumbai.
