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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.

Police under suspicion over Warna treasure loot

Khaki, Black Money - Part 3

Crores in unaccounted cash being allegedly suppressed during investigation


AI Generated Image
AI Generated Image

 

Kolhapur: In March 2016, a sensational theft rattled Kolhapur district. Over Rs 3 crore was stolen from a room inside the Warna Education Group campus at Warananagar by a habitual offender. Sangli police’s Crime Investigation Department (CID) arrested the thief and initially claimed to have cracked the case. But what followed exposed a far murkier truth – one that continues to simmer in Warananagar even today.

 

After the accused led police to the crime scene during custodial interrogation, successive rounds of searches mysteriously pushed the recovered amount beyond Rs 15 crore. Locals insist the actual figure was far higher. The most serious allegation: police officers who were entrusted with the probe allegedly siphoned off a large part of the cash themselves. In effect, those probing the theft are suspected of having looted the loot.

 

An office-bearer of the institution, alleging glaring loopholes and deliberate suppression of facts, knocked on every administrative door demanding a reinvestigation. However, if the Crime Investigation Branch, acting on orders of the then Chief Minister, simply stamped the petition as “baseless” and consigned it to the dustbin, the decision itself demands a thorough probe. But who will show the courage to order one – that is the real question.

 

Sheer Scale

 

The sheer scale of unaccounted cash uncovered at the Warna Education Group is staggering. Ironically, it was greed that exposed the secret. A driver employed by the institution stumbled upon the cash pile and succumbed to temptation. With the help of a habitual thief from his own village, Mohiuddin Abubakar Mulla, he executed the theft. The burglars had grossly underestimated the volume of cash – the sacks they carried were insufficient. They fled with whatever they could grab.

 

For Mulla, it was money he had never seen in his lifetime. He splurged wildly — buying three brand-new Royal Enfield Bullets, partying in bars, flaunting sudden wealth. His altered lifestyle soon led him back to jail. Sangli CID arrested him and seized Rs 3.08 crore along with other valuables. Following his confession, police returned to the Warna campus, conducted fresh searches and panchnamas, and claimed to have seized even more cash.

 

Seized Money

After Mulla was released on bail, a relative of one of the institution’s trustees staked claim over the seized money. Shockingly, during further investigation, yet another cache was recovered from the same room, while Rs 68 lakh was found at the driver’s residence. Where did such massive cash originate from? The prime accused reportedly told investigators that the actual amount was far higher than what was officially recorded – but there is no such statement on record. Instead, the accused was murdered.

 

The figures on paper simply do not tally with the money seized. The mismatch itself was enough to trigger action. Five police personnel – including an inspector and a sub-inspector – were suspended and booked on charges of misappropriating huge sums. One police officer linked to the case was murdered, while the family of another claims his “accidental” death was, in fact, a planned elimination.

 

Dark Script

The case reads like a dark Bollywood script. Yet the most damning silence comes from the Warna Education Group itself. Despite crores being found inside its premises, the institution has never formally claimed ownership. The relatives of trustees who staked claim have produced no proof that the room was officially allotted to them. There has been no credible verification of how they acquired such vast sums, nor any thorough probe by the Income Tax Department.

 

Instead, whispers in Warana’s sugarcane fields point to an even graver allegation: that a senior official allegedly took a Rs 2-crore “contract” to ensure the money was quietly returned. If true, who is this contract-taking officer? How much money did the police pocket? Why does the institution refuse to assert its claim despite the cash being found on its campus?

 

Only a reinvestigation can answer these questions. It may also finally expose who, within the police force, is donning a khaki uniform to play the role of a dacoit.

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