Mumbai: Are political parties now using drones to keep tabs on their opponents?
A political row has erupted after Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray claimed on Sunday that he spotted a drone “peeping” into his family residence.
Incidentally, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has admitted of using drones in that area for a survey. This prompted Thackeray to question what the drone was doing “peeping” into people’s homes.
In his X post, the UBT leader and former Maharashtra minister has said that the incident occurred early in the morning, prompting alarm among the residents.
He said that once the media began inquiring about the matter, the MMRDA stated that the drone was part of a survey operation in the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) area and that it had permission from the Mumbai Police.
“Okay,” Thackeray wrote, before launching into a series of pointed questions directed at the civic body and the police.
He questioned the legitimacy of the so-called activity, asking what kind of survey allowed a drone to peer into private homes and leave hastily after being noticed.
“Why weren’t residents informed?” he asked, adding that if the MMRDA was indeed conducting a survey, there should have been prior communication with the people living in the vicinity.
He also accused the MMRDA of focusing on irrelevant activities instead of addressing larger issues.
“The MMRDA should rather get on the ground and focus on the sham of its work, like the MTHL (Atal Setu), which is an example of its corruption,” Thackeray wrote.
The opposition leader also questioned why residents were not notified even if the drone operation had police clearance.
“If the police gave it permission, why weren’t residents informed?” he asked, tagging both the MMRDA and Mumbai Police in his post.
The incident has raised concerns about transparency and privacy in official survey operations, especially in residential zones. Neither the Mumbai Police nor the MMRDA has issued a detailed statement beyond confirming that the drone was part of an authorised BKC survey.