When a drone is a spy: Slugfest over drone sighted near Matoshree

Soon after the staff at Matoshree spotted a drone maneuvering over the bungalow on Sunday morning, party leaders accused the Mahayuti government of snooping on the Thackerays

Mumbai: Drones may occupy a central place in urban planning and design for their ability to map large expanses of territory with ease. But on Sunday, a drone spotted outside Matoshree, the residence of Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray in Bandra East, sparked a slugfest which exposed chinks in privacy and security, at the personal as well as political levels, across ruling and opposition parties.

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray in Bandra East (HT PHOTO)

Soon after the staff at Matoshree spotted a drone maneuvering over the bungalow on Sunday morning, party leaders accused the Mahayuti government of snooping on the Thackerays. The Mumbai police responded in jiffy, saying the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) was using the drone with prior permission, for a survey in connection with the proposed pod taxi project.

Estimated at ₹1,016.34 crore, the pod taxi project aims to enhance last-mile connectivity to the business hub, catering to an estimated 400,000 to 600,000 daily commuters.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders, however, were clearly dissatisfied with the defence.

“What survey allows you to peep inside homes and fly out quickly when spotted? Why weren’t residents informed? Is MMRDA only doing surveillance of our house for the entire BKC,” Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA from Worli Aaditya Thackeray asked in a post on social media platform X.

The BJP, meanwhile, slammed the Thackerays and accused them of trying to earn public sympathy by terming the drone survey as a snooping attempt.

After a video of drone movement above Matoshree began doing the rounds of social media on Sunday morning, several Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders including former mayor Kishori Pednekar, Sushma Andhare and spokesperson Harshal Pradhan issued statements accusing the state government of using drones for snooping.

The home department was held by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, they stated, leaving no ambiguity about who the allegations were aimed at.

Party MP Arvind Sawant alleged that ruling parties were scared of Thackeray and might be using drones to keep an eye on his movement and track who he was meeting.

“This regime has brought down the level of politics in the state. One can doubt if the home department is working or not,” said Sawant.

Subsequently, the MMRDA issued a statement saying it had been conducting a drone survey for the past two days (November 8-9) for the pod taxi project along its approved alignment, from Kurla to Bandra via BKC.

“All necessary permissions were obtained by MMRDA on behalf of the concessionaire from the police department, and every instruction issued by them was strictly adhered to. The certified drone operator, whose background verification was already submitted to the authorities, carried out the survey in the presence of police personnel and concessionaire officials,” the MMRDA statement said.

BJP leader Praveen Darekar slammed Thackeray and his party leaders for trying to set a fake narrative about the drone movement.

“They set a fake narrative and created fear among the people to win seats in the Lok Sabha elections. On similar lines, today Thackeray and his party tried to set a fake narrative regarding the drone movement to earn the sympathy of people as they fear losing local body elections. But their ploy was destroyed and they have been exposed as it is now clear that MMRDA was conducting a drone survey for its pod taxi project,” said Darekar.