State orders probe into Navi Mumbai land case amid political storm

Maharashtra orders a probe into a land dispute in Navi Mumbai involving 60.95 hectares, amid political tensions and claims of irregularities in allotments.

NAVI MUMBAI: The state government has ordered a high-level investigation into a long-drawn land ownership dispute involving 60.95 hectares across five villages in Panvel taluka, within the Navi Mumbai project area, land acquired when the city was built several decades ago.

State orders probe into Navi Mumbai land case amid political storm

The probe was ordered after a meeting called by the state chief secretary on Monday. Accordingly, a government resolution (GR) dated November 27, 2025, was issued by the state urban development department, directing the formation of a committee headed by the Konkan divisional commissioner to probe the matter. The committee, the GR states, will reconcile discrepancies in government records relating to this land, and confirm whether it was eligible for allotment under CIDCO’s 12.5% compensation scheme.

The move unfolds amid allegations by NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar, of a colossal loss to the state, and signs of friction emerging, once again, between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena, alliance partners in the ruling Mahayuti alliance in the state.

The disputed land, spread across Dapoli, Kopar, Targhar, Sonkhar, and Ulwe, was originally acquired for the Navi Mumbai project. The core issue is the claim made by the Bivalkar family, who sought developed plots under CIDCO’s 12.5% compensation scheme for project-affected persons (PAPs).

The matter took a political turn earlier this year, when Pawar alleged that around 15 acres of land, valued at around ₹5,000 crore, was allotted to the Bivalkar family under CIDCO’s 12.5% compensation scheme, pointing out that earlier claims had been rejected many times. He raised questions over decisions taken during the tenure of former CIDCO chairperson, Sena MLA Sanjay Shirsat.

Welcoming the investigation, Yashwant Bivalkar said he had been demanding an impartial probe “for a long time” to protect himself from “extortionists and false allegations.”. “I am happy I will finally get justice,” he stated, adding that the inquiry would definitively establish “that the airport has been built on my acquired land”.

The Bivalkar family has previously denied wrongdoing, asserting ancestral rights over the land. Bivalkar further claimed, “CIDCO’s RTI reply makes it clear that none of the survey numbers in question are forest land. These plots fall in airport or township zones, and the allegation that they are forested is completely false.”

The family also says it will pursue defamation proceedings against Pawar. The NCP (SP) leader, in a social media post on X, had claimed the government acted “only after being pushed by the Supreme Court,” which had warned that it would be forced to intervene if the state failed to take action.

He also questioned the composition of the new committee, alleging that the officer who had issued the GR had earlier recommended the Bivalkar allotment to CIDCO, and that the official now appointed as committee member-secretary had himself processed the same allotment.

Pawar demanded that the inquiry be placed under the supervision of a retired judge, and insisted that social justice minister Sanjay Shirsat resign. Shirsat has called the allegations politically driven, adding that the files pertaining to the land were processed in accordance with established CIDCO procedures.

The probe order has taken on further political colour as the land decisions under scrutiny date back to Shirsat’s tenure as CIDCO chairperson and CIDCO, which falls under the jurisdiction of deputy chief minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde as urban development minister.