‘Notrevamping966haofport land, onlyre-planning282ha’
After HT series, MBPT chairman says 66% of land is being opened up for city
HT got experts to compare two reports of the state – a November 2014 study authored by IAS officer Rani Jadhav and the November 2018 one that is now open for feedback – for the changes made to the eastern waterfront revamp plan. The common conclusion was the change in the objective, from the earlier goal of “creating 216-ha of open, connected and green spaces for all”, to “unlocking commercial potential of the land”, could leave Mumbai with only 74ha of accessible open spaces are looking at developing only 282.57 hectares. Of this, 187.5ha is for open spaces, roads, grid network and amenities for citizens, close to 66.4% of the planned area. We have also reserved 18ha for tourism-related activities such as developing themedpiers, which will be open to all. Only 69.64 hectares of this planned development is reserved for commercial uses. We need money to fund the redevelopment after all (Total cost: ₹5,655 crore).
What do you plan to develop on 69.64ha meant for commercial growth?
This commercial area can be like a mini-bandra-kurla Complex, a host of legal and financial offices can come up here. There will also be tourism-cum-cultural development here. It will create several job opportunities. But, first we are looking at developing a Central government office complex by leasing our land to government corporations and public sector undertakings. We hope to generate ₹4,000 crore from this. Around 14.31 hectares will be for residential development. Only after five to seven years, we will think of generating revenues on the lines of Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) by auctioning plots here. But there will be no private developers until then.
The Rani Jadhav committee, which was appointed in 2014 by the Centre, had a different vision, where it stressed more on open and recreational spaces for citizens.
The 2014 plan was broader, for the entire area, and included suggestions that can probably be developed after 20 years when the port activities are shut. However, we have taken several ideas from that plan and incorporated it in our draft. For instance, we have included water transport – we are developing a 7-km waterfront, more than twice the size of Marine Drive, which will be open to all. Our aim is to move towards cruise tourism, which was probably not envisioned earlier. A majority of ports around the world where metropolitan cities came up shifted to cruise along with cargo activities.
The committee also elaborated on sectoral plans for different areas in MBPT’S jurisdiction with mixed-land use. For instance, Elphinstone estate had a mix of inclusive housing, office spaces and open spaces
Right now, we are not looking at major development in Elphinstone Estate. If you consider all The plan was compared to the only other major redevelopment the city has seen, that of the 240-ha mill land. Thanks to the tweak in rules, ignoring of concerns and political and civic apathy, mill owners got to sell the land for profits, and Mumbai, in turn, got haphazard development, with little infrastructure for public. Experts underscored how the Jadhav committee report could help rectify the mistake this time around. MBPT chairman Sanjay Bhatia responded, saying commercial development was to fund the revamp.
LAND ALLOCATION
MBPT chairman on Thursday said the entire hectares is not open for development
The plan has accounted for hectares of
reclamation authority for Colaba and it doesn’t need to be redeveloped. Further north, the Navy area does not belong to MBPT. We are not going to redevelop Ballard estate and dockyard areas. Mazagaon docks or the oil-tank farms also cannot be developed. Therefore, the only free land available is at Darukhana, which has slums, and Cotton Green, which we are re-doing. At Wadala, we have housing for our staff and we plan to shift close to 20,000 slum dwellers there. We have not yet worked out how slum rehabilitation will be implemented and
This leaves
hectares
That includes hectares of gardens, open spaces, roads and grid network
hectares for commercial development hectares for tourism-related activities
can be developed how much housing stock can be created from this.
MBPT’S plan to reclaim land at Haji Bunder has been severely opposed by activists…
We are talking about giving 66% of open spaces (this includes roads, amenities and grid) even without reclamation. By reclamation, we will make another 93-ha garden. Without it, we are looking at a 53-ha garden. If the Ministry of Environment does not approve reclamation and citizens don’t want it, we will not do it. We are also seriously considering all 950 objections that we have got. We are open to changes
and suggestions.
What is the next step?
The hearing for all suggestions/ objections is on, after which we will send it to the Maharashtra government for approval and then the Central government for a final nod.