Aaditya Thackeray criticises transfer of salt pan land for Dharavi redevelopment

Mumbai: Aaditya Thackeray, leader of the Shiv Sena (UBT), has lambasted the union government’s decision to approve the transfer of 256 acres of salt pan land in Mumbai to the Maharashtra government for the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP).
Thackeray questioned the government’s motives, noting the stark contrast between its current actions and past refusals. “The union government denied salt pan space to the BMC for 10 years for a pumping station that would help reduce flooding in Mumbai’s eastern suburbs,” he said. “Now, salt pan land area that was a complete No Development Zone for builders is being given to its favourite builder/industrialist. Guess why? Because it ruins Mumbai. A city that BJP hates.”
The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader expressed concern over the potential displacement of Dharavi residents. “If societies of ‘ineligible’ residents from Dharavi are coming up in Mulund, Wadala and Kanjurmarg, who is Dharavi being redeveloped for?” he asked. Thackeray insisted that no resident of Dharavi should be deemed ineligible and that salt pan land should remain untouched.
He further alleged that the BJP’s actions were part of a larger strategy to “break and crush Mumbai by handing it to such interests free of cost”.
Thackeray also criticised the union government’s past actions, including what he described as “unnecessary litigation” over the proposed Kanjurmarg metro depot. He claimed the government falsely designated the area as salt pan land to accommodate “greedy egos of the BJP”, only to withdraw the case when the car depot was relocated.
“Both projects were to benefit Maharashtra, and therefore the anti-Maharashtra BJP didn’t let it go through,” Thackeray stated in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.