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| Public land under threat in Mumbai |
| The Bandra-Kurla complex is one of Mumbai's most expensive commercial hubs. Land prices here are at Rs 40,000 / square foot- a reason why public space
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| INDIA
, 19-September-2007
2:19:48 AM |
| In Mumbai's sky-high real estate, it's difficult to protect public grounds from unscrupulous developers. And perhaps for this reason the government is not even trying.
In Mumbai's new business district, the Bandra-Kurla complex, the state's Planning Authority wants to shift a massive public ground onto the bank of the River Mithi.
This, despite knowing fully well that as the river is widened, the public ground worth nearly Rs 400 crore, will quietly sink.
The Bandra-Kurla complex is one of Mumbai's most expensive commercial hubs. Land prices here are at Rs 40,000 / square foot- a reason why public spaces here are a rarity.
But the few that exist are now under threat. Like a plot, worth Rs 380 crore, reserved for a public ground is now in danger of being wiped out.
The MMRDA wants to throw the plot open for construction and shift the ground on the banks of the Mithi River.
But after the 2005 Mumbai deluge, the very same agency was bound to widen the Mithi river, which means it knew the ground will be swallowed up.
Even the Mithi River Development Authority had opposed the move. In a letter, it clearly said the river needed to be widened from its current width of 80 metres to 270 metres and that this may swallow up the land on the riverbed.
The MMRDA said it wanted the public ground to accommodate three slum schemes being proposed by the construction major HDIL. Schemes located on the riverbed would have been swallowed up when the river is widened.
But activists say it's a bad decision because while the builder makes a profit of Rs 600 crore, the city will lose out on a massive public ground.
''There's a High Court order that clearly says you can't build anything on a recreation ground. And this is just a ruse to wipe out this space altogether,'' said Nayana Kathpalia, Co-convenor, Citispace.
But despite the controversy, the proposal has not been scrapped.
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