Won’t allow builders to rename Mumbai areas to Upper Worli, New Cuffe Parade for profit: Uddhav Thackeray
Thackeray objected to builders advertising Kala Nagar as BKC Annex, Wadala as New Cuffe Parade, Lower Parel as Upper Worli and Andheri as Upper Juhu (Representational Image, Courtesy: @anisaz9_basit)
Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray has objected to private developers ‘renaming’ areas in Mumbai in a bid to make their projects attractive to prospective customers.
The Sena chief has also directed party corporators to warn the builders in their respective wards against doing so.
Addressing a meeting of the party corporators at Shiv Sena Bhavan, Thackeray asked them to “blacken” the signboards/nameplates in case the developers concerned failed to toe the line.
The Sena chief has objected to the alleged change of names of places like Worli and Malabar Hills in Mumbai by some developers in their projects, the sources said.
“Several builders have changed names of some places in Mumbai. Thackeray ordered the corporators to stop that campaign by some developers. He asked them to write to the builders concerned against doing so (changing names).
“The corporators should warn them that the boards will be blackened if they changed names of areas in Mumbai,” a source was quoted as saying.
In the last few years, advertisements by several builders have been showcasing new names for existing areas, including Kala Nagar as BKC Annex, Wadala as New Cuffe Parade, Lower Parel as Upper Worli and Andheri as Upper Juhu.
Areas like Cuffe Parade, Juhu, Bandra are among the most-sought after residential addresses in the space-starved metropolis.
In line with the party’s Marathi plank, Thackeray also called for making available the copy of the city’s Development Plan 2034 in local language for the convenience of those who made suggestions in it.
He also sought a month’s time for the people to study the DP and to see whether their provisions have been incorporated in the plan. The development plan is a blueprint of the city’s land use for the next 20 years.
Incidentally, this isn’t the first time Sena has taken objection to the renaming of localities.
Back in 2016, and ahead of the civic polls, Sena’s Rajya Sabha MP Anil Desai had accused builders of creating a class divide in the city by resorting to such tactics.
“By renaming areas and connecting them to other areas, these builders are not only belittling the renamed areas and creating animosity between residents but also insulting old areas that are an important part of the city’s history and heritage,” Desai claimed in a letter to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
