MUMBAI: Two ruling party politicians and builders—Shiv Sena minister Pratap Sarnaik and BJP MLA Narendra Mehta—are at loggerheads over allegations of grabbing tribal land for their real estate projects. The land in question is in Mira-Bhayandar.Sena minister and BJP MLA, both charged with land grab, trade accusationsThe feud has now reached the state government, exposing the growing strain within the Mahayuti alliance. While a report on Mehta’s alleged violations is pending before the revenue department headed by BJP leader Chandrashekhar Bawankule, action against alleged illegal structures linked to Sarnaik has been halted by the urban development department (UDD) headed by Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde.The irregularities came to light recently after a Thane district collector, acting on complaints by tribal families, found evidence of illegal transfers of tribal-owned land in Varsave village to non-tribal individuals and private companies. His report has named Narendra Mehta and his company, Seven Eleven Hotels Pvt Ltd.All eyes are now on the revenue department to see if it will initiate legal action against Mehta. Officials indicated that immediate action was unlikely. “The tribal complainants have withdrawn their complaints, the matter is sub-judice, and politically it would be difficult to initiate action against a ruling party MLA,” an official said.Mehta, meanwhile, has accused the Sena’s Pratap Sarnaik of protecting illegal structures built on mangrove land in Chena village. The BJP MLA has claimed that 42 permanent houses were constructed to rehabilitate tribal families whose land was allegedly acquired by a company linked to Sarnaik.Two weeks ago, the Mira-Bhayandar municipal corporation initiated demolition action against the illegal structures on the directions of CM Fadnavis but the drive was reportedly halted by the UDD. In a letter dated June 10, the department stated that Eknath Shinde had directed UDD officials to submit a proposal on the possibility of regularising the structures and to not touch the structures till then. HT has a copy of the letter.Officials said the intervention has not gone down well with the chief minister’s office. “The UDD’s direction is unprecedented because structures built in the CRZ cannot be regularised,” said a revenue department official.Mehta has alleged that one of the tribal beneficiaries, Jagdish Vatas, died by suicide after the demolition began. “The tribal land was acquired by Sarnaik’s company and the families were rehabilitated on illegally reclaimed mangrove land. After realising they had been cheated, Jagdish Vatas killed himself on Wednesday,” Mehta alleged.The BJP politician, however, rejected his own indictment, claiming that the collector’s report was prepared without hearing his side and that the tribals had since withdrawn their complaints. Sarnaik, meanwhile, demanded immediate action against Mehta and his company and the restoration of the land to the tribal families.While the twin land disputes have now reached Mantralaya, with both alliance partners reportedly likely to support their own partymen, labour leader Vivek Pandit of Shramajivi Sanghatana said that the real losers were the tribal families. “The twin disputes are essentially a political battle between two alliance partners,” he said. “The tribals, meanwhile, are unlikely to get their land back. But the law provides for criminal prosecution and action under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and the affected tribals must continue their legal fight.”