India, April 10 -- In a dramatic turn of events, Panvel BJP MLA Prashant Thakur on Tuesday threatened to immolate himself if the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) proceeded with a demolition drive targeting a tribal settlement in Phanaswadi, Karanjade in Panvel. The protest forced CIDCO to pause its plans and hold an emergency meeting.

The standoff began when a large CIDCO team, accompanied by police, fire brigade personnel, and earth-moving machinery, arrived in the Vadghar gram panchayat limits to raze 32 tribal homes. The area was being cleared to construct an alternate road for a colony meant to rehabilitate project-affected persons (PAPs) displaced by the Navi Mumbai International Airport project.

As the demolitio...