Shirorda-Velagar five-star hotel project approved after 1994.
Following the signing of a tripartite agreement between the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC), Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL-Taj Group), and Shirorda-Velagar Landowners’ Co-operative Society Limited, the long-pending five-star hotel project at Shirorda-Velagar in Sindhudurg district is getting closer to completion.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis of Maharashtra, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Tourism Minister Shambhuraj Desai, Sindhudurg Guardian Minister Nitesh Rane, former minister and MLA Deepak Kesarkar, and senior officials were present when the agreement was signed at Mantralaya.
For a tourism project that has been on hold for more than thirty years, the development represents a major advancement.
In 1994, the Sindhudurg District Collector purchased private land on behalf of MTDC, sparking the idea to build a five-star tourism complex in Shirorda-Velagar. The corporation was later granted access to government land in the vicinity, increasing the total amount of land controlled for the project to 54.40 hectares.
After an agreement comprising the state government, MTDC, IHCL, and the affected landowners was approved in principle at a meeting presided over by Tourism Minister Shambhuraj Desai on December 23, 2025, the project acquired new impetus.
At MTDC’s 177th Board of Directors meeting on April 28, 2026, property-related consent was subsequently given. On June 30, 2026, the Maharashtra government authorised the signing of the contract with IHCL.
IHCL would pay the relevant landowners a total of Rs 60 crore in three installments, at a rate of Rs 1.44 crore per acre, as per the tripartite agreement.
The first phase would pay out about Rs 34.41 crore for the 23.88-hectare plot under Plot B-1.
Additionally, the agreement contains clauses designed to provide the local population with job and skill-development possibilities. While the Taj Group will carry out or support training and skill-development programs to increase employability among local youth, eligible project-affected individuals will be given priority for employment.
It is anticipated that the planned five-star hotel will improve Sindhudurg’s hospitality infrastructure and aid in the district’s growth as a travel destination. Additionally, the initiative aims to boost economic activity, create jobs locally, and draw more tourists from both domestic and foreign countries.
The project’s tourism potential is anticipated to be supported by connectivity. Access to both local and foreign markets is possible from the proposed hotel location, which is around 30 to 45 minutes from Sindhudurg Airport (Chipi) and about an hour from Manohar International Airport in Mopa, Goa.
IHCL Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Puneet Chhatwal and Executive Vise President Rajendra Mishra, MTDC Managing Director Nilesh Gatne and Senior Manager Sanjay Dhekne, and representatives of the Shirorda-Velagar Landowners’ Co-operative Society Limited signed the deal.
The deal removes a significant obstacle for the decades-old Shirorda-Velagar project and places it in the context of Maharashtra’s larger initiatives to build tourism facilities along the Sindhudurg coast.
