top of page

By:

Bhalchandra Chorghade

11 August 2025 at 7:24:18 pm

CIDCO struggles to find takers for its homes

Mumbai: The City and Industrial Development Corporation’s (CIDCO) latest housing scheme has exposed a recurring challenge for the planning authority: finding buyers for its large housing inventory despite its affordable-housing focus. The August 2026 scheme offered 4,793 homes in Taloja, Kharghar and Kalamboli and received 4,180 confirmed applications before bookings closed on September 3. While CIDCO described the response as strong, 613 homes—nearly 13 per cent of the inventory—had no...

CIDCO struggles to find takers for its homes

Mumbai: The City and Industrial Development Corporation’s (CIDCO) latest housing scheme has exposed a recurring challenge for the planning authority: finding buyers for its large housing inventory despite its affordable-housing focus. The August 2026 scheme offered 4,793 homes in Taloja, Kharghar and Kalamboli and received 4,180 confirmed applications before bookings closed on September 3. While CIDCO described the response as strong, 613 homes—nearly 13 per cent of the inventory—had no confirmed applicant. This follows earlier schemes with similar gaps. In January 2025, CIDCO’s ‘My Preferred Home’ scheme, offering around 26,000 homes across Navi Mumbai, attracted 1.36 lakh initial applications. However, only about 55,000 applicants paid the registration fee and around 22,000 deposited the required earnest money, leaving serious participation below the number of homes offered. A CAG-linked report on two CIDCO housing schemes in Kharghar found that, of 4,814 saleable tenements, allotment letters had been issued to 3,733 applicants and possession handed over to 3,317. Four years after the draw, 1,081 tenements remained unsold. CIDCO has also faced scrutiny over marketing expenditure. In 2023, reports questioned the appointment of private agencies to market and allot PMAY homes, stating that the agencies had received advances of more than Rs 100 crore before sales took place. CIDCO officials said external support was necessary given the scale of the programme. The scale of investment adds to the concern. CIDCO’s mass-housing programme envisaged 68,515 homes at an estimated cost of around Rs 15,300 crore. A 2024 report noted that thousands of completed homes were awaiting sale, locking up capital and increasing the authority’s financial burden. The latest homes are located in Taloja Sector 39, Kalamboli Bus Depot and Kharghar Bus Depot. Taloja accounts for 4,229 homes, followed by 257 in Kalamboli and 293 in Kharghar. Indicative prices range from around Rs 23.50 lakh in Taloja to Rs 37.70 lakh in Kalamboli and Rs 43.50 lakh in Kharghar. The figures point to a possible mismatch between what CIDCO considers affordable and what its target buyers can finance. Industry experts have noted that EWS homes priced at Rs 25 lakh or more may be difficult for households within the prescribed income ceiling, particularly after registration, stamp duty, floor-rise charges and other costs. Location may also influence demand. Taloja has seen rapid development and improved connectivity, including metro access, but buyers continue to weigh its distance from established employment centres and social infrastructure, as well as commuting costs. CIDCO maintains that its housing programme meets a genuine need in Navi Mumbai. Ashwin Mudgal, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, CIDCO, said, “The overwhelming response to the housing scheme reflects the aspirations of citizens to own a home in Navi Mumbai and their continued confidence in CIDCO’s planned development initiatives. CIDCO remains committed to providing affordable and quality housing opportunities in well-planned locations, enabling citizens to benefit from the region’s growing infrastructure and connectivity.” The authority has also highlighted the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) subsidy, under which eligible beneficiaries can receive Rs 2.5 lakh, subject to applicable guidelines and eligibility criteria. However, the repeated unsold inventory suggests that CIDCO’s challenge extends beyond construction. Pricing, apartment configurations, location, payment flexibility and connectivity may need to be reassessed before further public resources are committed.

BJP’s mega induction drive in Nashik amid local friction

Mumbai: The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) city office in Nashik turned into a high-stakes political theater on Thursday as the party executed a "mega induction drive" ahead of the crucial Municipal Corporation elections. In a move that signalled both the party's aggressive expansion and rising internal friction, five senior heavyweight leaders from the NCP-SP, Congress, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), and Shiv Sena (UBT) officially crossed over to the saffron fold.


Former Nashik Mayor and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Vinayak Pande, Former Nashik Mayor from MNS and now Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Adv. Yatin Wagh, former MNS MLA now NCP-SP leader Adv. Nitin Bhosle, former Chairpersons of the Standing Committee of the Corporation Shahu Khaire (Congress) and Sanjay Chavan (SS-UBT) and MNS state secretary Dinkar Patil joined the BJP at Nashik along with their respective supporters and several former corporators on Thursday in presence of irrigation minister Girish Mahajan. Local BJP MLA Devyanhi Pharande, who is also the Municipal Corporation election in charge of the party, had been opposing induction of Adv. Wagh, Khaire and Pande into the party. In a social media post early in the morning, she accused the party leadership of keeping her in dark about the induction drive.


Electric Atmosphere

The atmosphere at the BJP headquarters was electric yet tense as the city witnessed the mega induction drive. Supporters of the incoming leaders arrived with drums and garlands, while a noticeable contingent of BJP "loyalists"—long-time party workers who have spent decades building the local unit—staged protest against the drive even as the police controlled them.


Despite a formal protest and "strong opposition" voiced by these senior loyalists the party high command moved forward with the induction. The "grand drama" peaked as the five leaders were welcomed with traditional turbans and BJP scarves, even as some veteran workers briefly staged a silent demonstration outside the main hall, questioning the "dilution" of the party's core ideology for electoral gains.


Pharande, who is in her third term as the party MLA from the city, had been winning on Hindutva plank from the constituency that has a sizable Muslim population. While some of the leaders inducted today had been winning on the basis of the Muslim vote bank in the city, at least two of them are being seen by Pharande as the prospective contenders for the assembly seat she is currently holding. That also explains why she mentioned that she had been a staunch Hindutva warrior, in her social media post, said a senior party sympathiser. Party insiders also said that she was informer only late in the night about the induction drive and there was no response to her calls to the party leadership, which led to demonstrations.


Goal Of 100

However, the induction ceremony was presided over by Mahajan, often referred to as the party’s "crisis manager." Addressing the packed hall, Mahajan made no apologies for the move, framing it as a clinical necessity for the upcoming civic polls. "This induction is aimed at a spectacular victory in the ensuing elections," Mahajan declared. "With the influence and ground-level support these five leaders bring, I am confident the BJP shall win over 100 of the total 122 seats in the city corporation."


The ambitious target of 100+ seats suggests that the BJP is looking to achieve a near-absolute majority, reducing the opposition to a negligible presence in the Nashik Municipal Corporation.


Recognising the simmering resentment among the rank and file, Mahajan spent a significant portion of his speech addressing the "old guard." He assured the veterans that their sacrifices for the party would not be forgotten despite the arrival of new, high-profile entrants. Mahajan explicitly promised that "injustice won’t be done to the old, senior, loyal party workers." He also urged the cadres to "not worry" and instead focus on the larger goal of total dominance in the corporation.


The exit of these five leaders is a significant blow to the Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS, both of which have recently announced alliances in other parts of the state to counter the BJP. By poaching talent from these specific camps, the BJP has effectively disrupted the local leadership chain of its rivals just as the election machinery begins to churn.

Comments

bottom of page