New Maharashtra govt, Centre to unveil projects for developing Mumbai’s defunct port land.

With a BJP government assuming office in Maharashtra, the new state government and the Centre are set to unveil one of the biggest showcase projects for the country’s financial capital Mumbai with plans for developing 1800 acres of defunct port trust land along the city’s eastern coastline.

The political expediency, to set in motion these ambitious plans as soon as the new government gets down to business in the state, is apparent from the fact that this week Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Shipping and Transport, held a meeting relating to this with the head of the expert land development committee appointed by him three months ago as well as with the Mumbai Post Trust (MbPT) chairman, according to people with direct knowledge of the issue.

The expert panel's draft report, which will be submitted to the central minister soon after including Gadkari's feedback, paves the way for decongesting Mumbai of its heavy traffic and infusing vast swathes of green open spaces. The draft report also provides for three additional north-south mass rapid transit corridors and dedicated zones meant for entertainment, heritage-ecology conservation, businesses and employment generation. He further suggested that more land should be released for development, if necessary, by curtailing the loss making bulk cargo operations while continuing with the profitable offshore oil and petroleum transport.


THE INDIAN EXPRESS