Maharashtra Sadan builder starts plush plan on government land

MUMBAI: A considerable distance separates Andheri’s Link Road from Delhi’s Luyten’s zone. But for K S Chamankar, the contractor who built Maharashtra Sadan in Delhi, this route is paved in gold.
TOI has learnt that Chamankar has tied up with construction giant L&T and has started work on a luxury residential project on a slum plot in Andheri, belonging to the state.A portion of the land houses the regional transport office. Chamankar is expected to reap a bonanza of over Rs 1,000 crore by redeveloping this plot, which he received as an incentive for constructing Sadan and two buildings in Mumbai for Rs 100 crore for the government.
Property market sources said the developer was likely to open bookings for flats soon and was expected to quote Rs 15,000 a sq ft. A leading industrialist is believed to have pumped in over Rs 200 crore in the project and investor Ganpat Seth as well as developers Sailesh and Nainesh Shah also reportedly have stakes in it. They did not respond to TOI’s calls.
Though Maharashtra Sadan, the state’s new guesthouse in Delhi, is awaiting an inauguration owing to the controversy around it, Chamankar’s heavy machines have started excavating the Andheri land. “L&T that was offered a substantial stake will be involved in the construction,” said a source. The plot has a development potential of close to a million sq ft and is expected to fetch Chamankar and his partner over Rs 1,000 crore in profits, said the source. Maharashtra Sadan is mired in controversy following revelations that companies owned by PWD minister Chhagan Bhujbal’s family and associates were involved in the constructions. Last week, TOI reported that Chamankar sub-contracted the work to Origin Infrastructure. Two of its directors, Sanjay Joshi and Iram Tanvir Shaikh, are employees of MET run by Bhujbal’s family. The minister denied the allegations.