Maharashtra halts major Malad project over “serious lapses”

March 18, 2026 Headlinesnews

2 min readMumbaiMar 18, 2026 07:51 PM IST

The Maharashtra government on Wednesday ordered an inquiry into the alleged irregularities in the Malad (East) Project Affected People (PAP) rehabilitation project and put the project on hold till the probe is completed. It also directed a fresh review of the long-pending Mayur Nagar SRA project in Jogeshwari (East), asking officials to submit a report within 15 days.

Replying to a calling attention motion by Congress MLA Aslam Shaikh in the Assembly, Minister of State for Urban Development Madhuri Misal said an Additional Chief Secretary will conduct the probe into the Malad PAP project. She said the BMC had issued nearly Rs 470 crore in credit notes and granted 100 per cent Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) to the developer, but no building plans have been submitted so far.

Shaikh alleged that nearly Rs 1,000 crore had been committed in the project despite little progress on the ground. He said the civic body had made payments and extended benefits to the developer upfront, but the project could take years to complete at this pace.

Misal said the agreement did not fix any timeline to start the project, calling it a serious lapse that will be examined in the inquiry.

Shaikh, along with BJP MLA Yogesh Sagar, demanded a probe by a retired High Court judge, but the government has opted for an ACS-led inquiry for now.

In a separate discussion, Tourism Minister Shambhuraj Desai said the government will re-examine the Mayur Nagar SRA project at Maroshi in Jogeshwari (East), which has been pending for nearly 25 years.

Vallabh Ozarkar is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express’ Mumbai bureau, recognized as an authoritative and deeply knowledgeable voice on the politics, governance, and infrastructure of Maharashtra. With more than nine years of experience in major news organizations, his reporting delivers high standards of Expertise and Trustworthiness.
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