Navi Mumbai, Aug. 15 -- The City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) has floated a Rs.610 crore construction tender for Maha Nivas, a premium residential project in Navi Mumbai, exclusively reserved for the state's top elected representatives and public officials. Located along Palm Beach Road in the Central Business District (CBD) of Belapur, the luxury housing apartments are designed by renowned architect Hafeez Contractor, a prominent architect. As per CIDCO officials, Maha Nivas is set to have around 350 flats including 3 BHK (bedroom, hall, kitchen) units of 1270sq.ft priced at Rs.2.45 crore and 4 BHK units of 1800sq.ft priced at Rs.3.47 crore. The flats are being offered at Rs.19,500 per sq.ft, nearly half the current market rate of Rs.30,000-60,000 per sq.ft in the area. Already around 550 applications have been registered by the state's MPs, MLAs, MLCs, judges of the Supreme Court and high court, and senior IAS and IPS officers. Applicants had to pay a mandatory Rs.1 lakh registration fee to reserve their spots. As per CIDCO, the flats will be allotted through a lottery basis, and buyers are barred from selling their flats for three years after the allotment. Palm Beach Road is among Navi Mumbai's most posh areas, known for its high-rise towers, mangrove-lined stretches, and panoramic views. Strategically located at Plot No. 20, Sector 15A, opposite the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) headquarters and near the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA), Maha Nivas will also offer seamless connectivity for senior officials who travel frequently between administrative hubs. The construction tender issued this week covers the project's complete execution over a 42-month period. The tender includes the cost of setting up operational electrical and plumbing systems, fire safety installations, and environmental compliance. The gated complex will offer a range of amenities including landscaped pathways, green forest zones, driveways, a swimming pool, a mini-auditorium, an amphitheatre, games courts, walking and cycling tracks, and a clubhouse. Highlighting the rationale behind the scheme, CIDCO vice chairman and managing director Vijay Singhal said, "The project has been designed to optimize available floor space index (FSI) and deliver high-quality housing within a compact footprint." He added that prime land in the area is limited, and there is a high demand for housing among senior government officials. As per Singhal, the scheme aligns with the government's 'Housing for All' agenda and similar initiatives have been taken in other states too. "This is not for any preferred individual but for a defined category, and the pricing is based strictly on cost parameters," Singhal said. Earlier, CIDCO had appointed Tata Consulting Engineers and Hiten Sethi & Associates as joint Project Management Consultants (PMC) at a cost of Rs.28 crore. The corporation also had a Rs.15 crore contract for the architectural design. However, housing activists and developers criticised the appointments questioning why CIDCO needed external consultants given the corporation's experience in executing housing projects. Manohar Shroff, senior vice president of the Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (MCHI-CREDAI) Navi Mumbai, said that the scheme reflects a troubling shift toward "exclusivist" planning. "This is a government-backed housing project on prime public land, yet it excludes the general public entirely." Shroff said added that usually developers get plots at very high costs and face legal hurdles. "Here, flats are being offered on a platter to VIPs at half the market rate in a high-demand area," said Shroff....