Work has started on a controversial theme park development in Mumbai, India, which has come under political scrutiny from opposing parties ahead of an upcoming election.

Raj Thackeray, president of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) party, laid the foundation stone for the 20,590sq m (221,628sq ft) development, despite opposition from rival political party Shiv Sena, which argues the park is being built on salt land with no permission from the salt department.

India’s salt trade – which is the third-largest in the world – has been around for more than 5,000 years and is currently regulated by government salt agencies. Their jurisdiction includes the lease and management of salt land where Shiv Sena says the theme park is being built.

The RS100m (US$1.6m, €1.3m, £1m) theme park, Maze Jag (My World), which gained planning permission last month, is backed by MNS member Vikrholi Mangesh Sangle and is being built on state government land with the help of Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA).

Shiv Sena, however, says that the plot comes under the jurisdiction of the salt department and the project does not have requisite permissions from the central government. The MNS has refuted the allegations, claiming the land has been earmarked as a tourism zone.

The theme park project will include the construction of a giant wheel, sky range, trampolines, mini train and an amphitheatre. Work on the development will come in two phases, with the first phase costing RS30m (US$500,000, €380,000, £300,000).