New Delhi: An 81-year-old resident of Mira Road, Thane, had to seek help from his schoolmate, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to take back his land after pursuing various government authorities for nearly 15 years. His land, he alleged, was encroached upon by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA, The Times of India reported.BJP MLA, Narendra Mehta, who owns a construction firm, was soon to begin construction on the disputed land in Bhayander, in Thane district of Maharashtra. On Tuesday (September 15), however, Mehta reportedly said he was giving up possession and surrendering the nod for construction granted to him for the plot. Mehta also reportedly withdrew a complaint he had filed against the octogenarian owner of the land, Asgar Ali Vohra.On September 8, Vohra had reportedly met Prime Minister Modi to seek his intervention in the decades-old land dispute, along with an appeal for a CBI probe in the matter. Vohra, according to TOI, studied with Modi at B.N. School in Vadnagar, Gujarat. According to the daily, Vohra said he had purchased around 2,810 sqm of land at Navghar in Bhayander East in 1989, but in 2011, the plot was taken over by Swayam Builders and BJP MLA Mehta’s Seven Eleven Constructions. He said that he had been pursuing various government authorities over the matter for nearly 15 years.Following the meeting, Maharashtra transport minister Pratap Sarnaik released photographs and a press note of Vohra’s meeting with Modi, and expressed hope that the PM would ensure justice for his friend.PTI reported that Seven Eleven Construction Private Limited has now completely withdrawn. Official documents seen by the news agency reportedly showed that the firm submitted a letter to the Assistant Director of Town Planning at the Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation, formally surrendering its commencement certificate for the plot.The company claimed to have purchased the plot from one Mervyn Fernandes via a registered deed on June 13, 2019, and secured construction permission on April 17, 2026. In a letter to the police commissioner, as reported by TOI, the firm said it was returning the permit as the two sides had reached a settlement. The settlement, it appears, was due to the prime minister’s intervention.In its communication, PTI reported, the firm requested the civic body to cancel the permission and refund all fees previously deposited for its project at the location. It further moved to clear the legal hurdles it had imposed on the landowner.