Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has guaranteed freehold status for all houses developed by the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO) in Nashik city. He directed CIDCO Chairman Sanjay Shirsat to draft the necessary proposal and seek approval for the initiative.
Shinde made these assurances during his address at a local event for the Balasaheb Thackeray Smriti Udyan in the Gangapur Road area on Saturday. He also promised the city's residents that he would address their concerns regarding the revision of the increased property tax imposed on residential and commercial properties.
In Nashik city, over 50,000 residential and commercial properties developed by CIDCO were leased to residents approximately 40 to 50 years ago. For many years, residents in the CIDCO area have been requesting the state government to convert these properties from leasehold to freehold status.
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According to a report of TOI, Ajay Boraste, Shiv Sena deputy leader and former leader of opposition in the Nashik civic body, said the properties were leased out by CIDCO for a period of 90 years. CIDCO residents have been facing many issues. They are unable to develop these leasehold properties. "Therefore, we have been requesting the state govt for the conversion of properties from leasehold to freehold, Chief minister Shinde has also given his assurance on the same. We expect a decision by CIDCO soon," said Boraste.
In November 2022, CIDCO announced plans to close its Nashik office and reassign employees to other locations. However, this decision faced strong opposition from CIDCO residents. Responding to their concerns, Chief Minister Shinde instructed the CIDCO administration to reverse its decision and keep the Nashik office open.