Mumbai: For 68-year-old Mahendra Chokshi, the Rs 85-lakh value attached to his Kandivli flat is not just a figure in a property dispute. It represents decades of savings and the security he expected in his final years.Instead, Chokshi, who is blind and dependent on others, has spent the past four years in an old-age home after his house was demolished for redevelopment. He is still waiting for the alternative accommodation and financial dues that were promised to him.Chokshi is among 50-odd flat owners and homebuyers who have been caught in prolonged redevelopment disputes, many running into several crores. Many are elderly, disabled or living alone; some have been waiting for more than a decade.At least 21 cases have been filed against members of the Tanna family in connection with redevelopment projects in D N Nagar, Andheri, Kandivli, and Goregaon. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has taken over the investigations and chargesheets have been filed in several cases.Police have arrested Jayesh Tanna, while his brother Deepa Tanna is absconding. Jayesh’s wife Heena, son Vivek, daughter Shraddha and daughter-in-law Anita have also been named in FIRs and obtained anticipatory bail. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has separately registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.But while the cases move through the criminal justice system, the affected flat owners say they remain without their homes, promised payments or, in some cases, both.Chokshi’s case dates back to 2010, when his original home was demolished for redevelopment. According to allegations in the case, the flat was subsequently dealt with through forged memorandums of understanding. An FIR was registered in 2022.Under the redevelopment arrangement, Chokshi was expected to receive a Permanent Alternative Accommodation Agreement, an alternative flat and transit rent. He alleges these obligations were not fulfilled. Pursuing the case has proved particularly difficult. Chokshi cannot read documents placed before him, is physically dependent on others and has limited financial means to sustain a prolonged legal battle.Other affected homebuyers have a similar story to narrate. Ninety-two-year-old bedridden Kamla Gandhi has claims of over Rs 7 crore, and another claim of around Rs 2 crore. Vijay Jadhav, 82, who is unable to walk, seeks resolution of claims estimated at Rs 5 crore in D N Nagar.Seventy-one-year-old Jayshree Shah, a single woman, has been waiting since 2010. She says she is owed around Rs 90 lakh in connection with an incomplete D N Nagar redevelopment project. Harsha Pariyani, 50, who is disabled, says she has been waiting for around Rs 90 lakh since 2011 in another D N Nagar project in Andheri.“I don’t have any other property. I had handed over my flat for redevelopment, hoping to get extra space in the new project. But now, after 15 years, I am still homeless and living in a rented flat. The builder has also stopped paying our rent,” Shah said.Mumbai’s redevelopment story is usually told through cranes, new towers and promises of modern homes, but for these individuals, it has meant surrendering their homes and a seemingly never-ending wait. A developer familiar with such projects said redevelopment disputes can become prolonged when issues involving agreements, transit rent, alternative accommodation, mortgages and property transactions enter lengthy legal proceedings.EOW and ED have provisionally attached several properties allegedly linked to the Tannas. The affected flat owners allege that funds were diverted or transferred overseas while the projects remained incomplete, and that a forensic audit of the projects and transactions has not been conducted.Mehul Katara, one of the complainants, said he had approached the Human Rights Commission over firearm licences held by members of the Tanna family. “Despite all these cases, Jayesh possessed a weapon licence. When I complained to the Human Rights Commission, police cancelled his licence in 2026. Vivek and Deepa’s licences have not been revoked. Why?” he said.
