Reserve 50% of houses in new buildings for Marathis: Shiv Sena UBT’s Anil Parab

Mumbai: With three months to go for the Maharashtra assembly elections, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anil Parab has asked for 50% of houses in new buildings coming up in the city to be reserved for Marathi people.

The 59-year-old, who is the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance’s candidate for the Mumbai Graduates constituency in the legislative council, sought a law that would hold developers liable to imprisonment if they violate the rule.

Parab, a member of the Maharashtra legislative council, has moved a private member’s bill in the state legislature seeking the reservation. According to the bill, if a developer fails to reserve 50% of houses for Marathi people, they will be imprisoned for six months or fined ₹10 lakh or both.

A private member’s bill is a tool in legislative proceedings used by members to bring important matters to the government’s attention for immediate intervention. The state government has the authority to present the bill, which becomes law after the legislature passes it.

“Maharashtra got Mumbai after the sacrifice of 105 martyrs,” Parab said. “However, it is difficult for Marathi people to get houses even on rent. There is an urgent need to enact a law in this regard.”

Citing the recent example of a builder in Vile Parle who refused to sell a flat to a Maharashtrian because of their food preference, Parab claimed there is a clear pattern of developers deliberately denying houses to Marathi people. He added that the state government was helpless because there’s no law to take action against the developer.

The Vile Parle incident took place in May during the Lok Sabha elections, when the Marathi-versus-Gujarati issue also flared up in Mumbai. Following protests backed by the Shiv Sena (UBT), the builder had apologised. Earlier, in September 2023, the police had arrested a Gujarati father-son duo for allegedly denying a 35-year-old woman office space on rent in a Mulund building because she was Maharashtrian.

“The percentage of Marathi people in Mumbai is decreasing day by day, and there have been multiple instances of houses being denied to Marathi people under the pretext of food preferences or religion. Any discrimination based on religion or food preferences is unconstitutional,” said Parab.

The demand comes just two days before polling day for the Mumbai graduates constituency on June 26. The Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena is also likely to pursue the matter further during the assembly elections in October.

Responding to Parab’s demand, BJP MLA Atul Bhatkhalkar slammed the Shiv Sena (UBT) for not doing anything regarding the issue when it was in power.

“Anil Parab has moved the bill when he is facing the legislative council election as a candidate. The MVA government ruled the state for two and half years, and Uddhav Thackeray was the chief minister of that government. Anil Parab was a minister in that government. Why did Parab not do anything during that period? Besides that, his party was in power in the BMC for over two decades. Parab should declare what his party did to encourage Marathi builders in Mumbai,” said Bhatkhalkar.