Maharashtra: Housing body chief accused of using Adani name as threat

A controversy has erupted in Maharashtra after a senior bureaucrat allegedly invoked industrialist Gautam Adani’s name while threatening a slum resident during a public consultation on a major redevelopment project.

The official at the centre of the row is Sanjeev Jaiswal, vice-president and CEO of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA). The incident reportedly took place during a public meeting with residents regarding the Motilal Nagar redevelopment project in Goregaon (West), a Mumbai suburb.

According to those present, tensions escalated when a young resident displayed a poster demanding a 2,400 sq. ft carpet area flat in place of an existing 1,600 sq. ft unit. Responding to the demand, Jaiswal allegedly said that if residents did not want redevelopment, the project could be halted and Gautam Adani informed accordingly.

Jaiswal is also accused of calling the youth an “infiltrator” for asserting his housing rights and directing police personnel present at the meeting to detain him. The remarks triggered anger among residents of Motilal Nagar, who allege they are being pressured to accept the redevelopment terms without adequate consultation or negotiation.

At least 37 residents have reportedly filed a police complaint against Jaiswal, though no FIR has been registered so far. Nilesh Prabhu, secretary of the Motilal Nagar Vikas Samiti, has demanded that Jaiswal be removed from his position.

Spread across 143 acres, the Motilal Nagar redevelopment project has been awarded by MHADA to the Adani Group. After Dharavi, this is the conglomerate’s second-largest redevelopment project. Adani Properties Pvt Ltd secured the contract through the highest bid, and the project will be implemented under the Construction and Development Agency (C&DA) model. The group is expected to invest more than Rs 1 lakh crore in the project.

A video of the exchange has circulated widely on social media, intensifying political reactions. Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad condemned the alleged threat, calling it evidence that the Maharashtra administration was acting in the interests of a private corporate entity.

In a post on X, Gaikwad wrote that a “surrender government” was forcing citizens to surrender their democratic rights, adding that the episode demonstrated how the state’s bureaucracy was functioning in favour of Adani. She alleged that once a project is handed to the conglomerate, citizens are effectively deprived of the right to dissent or protest.

Gaikwad further claimed that residents were being pressured to accept redevelopment terms and that bureaucratic machinery was being used to intimidate those raising objections. Drawing parallels with the Dharavi redevelopment project, she alleged irregular surveys and violations linked to an Adani ready-mix concrete (RMC) plant, and claimed that residents and even elected representatives had faced intimidation when attempting to protest.

Under the Motilal Nagar redevelopment plan, 3,702 eligible residential beneficiaries are expected to receive free rehabilitation housing units of around 1,600 sq ft each. Additionally, 328 eligible commercial occupants will receive units of approximately 987 sq. ft. Around 1,600 slum households will be rehabilitated under the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) scheme in units measuring about 300 sq. ft.

Officials have also indicated that MHADA will receive a substantial housing stock as part of the redevelopment arrangement.