Navi Mumbai: Relief for Navi Mumbai residents as the new City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO) chairman announces conversion of leasehold land to freehold which will indirectly mean that no Navi Mumbaikar will henceforth have to pay CIDCO transfer charges on purchase of any property in the city.
The Navi Mumbai Co-Operative Housing Federation along with their 3500 affiliate Co-Operative Housing Societies and Navi Mumbai Vyapari Mahasangh along with their 22000 affiliate members from trader’s class had united last month to get CIDCO to give up the practice of collecting transfer charges.
On Wednesday, the newly appointed Cidco chairman Sanjay Shirsat announced that Navi Mumbai residents will no more be lease holders of any of the properties in Navi Mumbai. “The Government Resolution (GR) about the same is likely to be issued by October 8,” Shirsat said.
The board meeting resolution is yet to be published, which is expected to happen by Thursday and in the Cabinet meeting scheduled this week, the final decision is expected to be made.
A total of 500 Co-operative Housing societies across Navi Mumbai had previously, issued letters in support of this cause. The movement of residents against CIDCO levying the transfer charges was led by Navi Mumbai Citizen foundation.
The founder of the foundation, Satish Nikam said, “CIDCO board has decided to make the CIDCOland free hold for the residents which means that the residents will no more have to pay any transfer charged to the CIDCO. The exact rules and the conditions would be known only once the resolution of the board meeting is published and we get to study that. If we find any loopholes in that, we would protest against that as well.”
Meanwhile, there are residents who have a feeling that this could be a pre-election stunt and probably no such GR would actually be issued before the code of conduct which is expected to be post October 10. “These are usual political gimmicks before the election and nothing fruitful might come out of this,” a Navi Mumbai resident said.
Nikam said that they will continue their protest if this turns out to be a political stunt. “The citizens are smart enough now to not fall for such gimmicks. If this is only a political stunt the citizens would give their reply through the votes,” Nikam added.
