Mumbaikars paying ‘Adani tax’: Aaditya Thackeray

Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray exposes 'Adani tax' burdening Mumbaikars, diverting funds from public welfare to Adani Group.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Wednesday (January 29, 2025) claimed that Mumbaikars are paying a new type of tax called — ‘Adani tax’ — as the taxes that the common man is paying is benefitting only the Adani Group.

Elaborating on the ‘Adani tax’, he said: “It means acquiring Transfer of Development Rights [TDR], floor space index [FSI] from Adani, and they will not pay premiums worth ₹7,500 crore due from Dharavi Redevelopment Project Pvt. Ltd. [DRP] to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation [BMC].”

FSI is the ratio of the total permissible built-up area for a building to the total area of the plot. Transferable Development Rights (TDR) is a technique of land development, where rights are transferred from the fully developed zones to other zones of the city.

“This money could be used for sanitation workers, BEST [buses], who are desperately in need of funds. State government is trying to transfer big land parcels, reclamation plots, and tenders for water and electricity to Adani. It has replaced the East India Company from the British times,” he said to media on Wednesday in Mumbai.

The Worli legislator said he came across several proposals to increase the water tax, property tax, and BEST bus fare. “This means it is a load on Mumbaikars and land to Adani,” he added.

Mr. Thackeray reiterated that every resident of Dharavi is eligible for a house and must have space to operate his business. Pointing out the tall claims of BJP-led Mahayuti alliance MLAs, Mr. Thackeray said: “Legislators claimed renovating Mother Teresa plot as a garden, but today there is news of selling it at a lower price, State to BMC cleared the use of Deonar dumping ground for Dharavi project.

The State government has instructed BMC to spend ₹2,000 to ₹2,500 for the removal of legacy waste, bio-mining, cleaning the plot and handing over it to Adani.”