The Maharashtra government on Saturday cleared the proposal of allotting 10 acres of land for the construction of Tirupati Balaji temple at Navi Mumbai.
The decision of allotment of land for the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) was taken in a meeting of board of directors of City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) on the occasion of Marathi New Year, Gudi Padwa.
The Urban Development Department Minister Eknath Shinde along with Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray directed the authorities to get the proposal cleared in the meeting of board of directors of CIDCO and then send it to the State government for the final approval which has been cleared as per existing laws and regulations.
On February 27, 2022 the chairman of Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanam, Subba Reddy, had written a letter to the chief minister Uddhav Thackeray for the allotment of the land. The CM had then directed CIDCO to identify a suitable piece of land near the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport.
After the in-principal approval to the allotment of the land, Mr Reddy along with the additional chief officer, Dharma Reddy, trustees Milind Narvekar had visited and inspected the land.
The land was part of the land parcel allotted to Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) by CIDCO for the casting yard of Mumbai Trans Harbour Link on leave and licence. However, MMRDA agreed to hand over the land back in a phased manner from March to September 2023.
The allotment of the land for the temple has significance in many ways as it is believed that the darshan of Lord Balaji is completed only after immediate visit to Mahalaxmi temple in Kolhapur. So, the Balaji temple in Navi Mumbai will be a boon to devotees who can then visit Kolhapur.
