Exclusive fund for MMRDA infra plans……Ninad Siddhaye
Mumbai: In future, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) need not solely depend on land auctions to fund its development activities. Now, it will have a steady source of income. The the government will create a new fund exclusively for development of infrastructure in the Mumbai metropolitan region (MMR).
Nomenclatured MMR Fund, contributions to it will be made by all major state-run local bodies like the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), City industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) as well as Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada).
Decks for the MMR Fund was cleared by chief minister Ashok Chavan on Monday. The implementing agency that will have access to the Fund will be MMRDA. The corpus thus created is expected to fast-track infrastructure projects and provide holistic development, keeping in view the MMR.
MMR Fund is also likely to get aid from various revenue heads from the local bodies. This includes revenue resources such as stamp duty, Floor Space Index (FSI) fee etc. The idea is if various revenue earning heads are getting huge money annually, they can contribute partly to the MMR fund, said an official requesting anonymity.
Apart from the MMRDA officials and Chavan, the meeting was attended by top bosses of all the organisations concerned with development activities in the MMR Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), Cidco, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and other local civic bodies, and Mhada and officials from the state urban development department.
Rich local bodies like BMC, run by the Shiv Sena, see MMRDA as an encroacher in its affairs in Mumbai, and there is no question of it agreeing to part with its revenue for the MMR Fund.
Earlier, the government of India was funding some of the infrastructure projects under the Mega City Fund. Under this fun, Mumbai has received approximately Rs600 crore till date.
Draft for the government resolution for the MMR fund is being finalised and once it is ready, we will send it to state finance department for clearance. Once approved, we will get the nod from MMRDA, said a government official.