MMRDA likely to bag Nariman Point redevelopment………Ninad Siddhaye
Mumbai: The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) seems to be inching closer to bagging the prestigious Nariman Point redevelopment project.
The project, which will be the first and the biggest cluster redevelopment project in the city, also includes redeveloping the Mantralaya.
Once redeveloped, Nariman Point could rub shoulders with the Bandra Worli Sea Link (BWSL) as another infrastructure marvel of the city.
Thanks to a recent announcement made by the state government in the assembly, which cancelled the bidding for Mantralaya redevelopment, the public works department (PWD) known for its babudom is out of the way.
Thus, the MMRDA fancies its chances now; having made a presentation on the project a few months back to chief minister Ashok Chavan.
An MMRDA official said the intention was to convert the area into a business district, styled on Manhattan.
We plan to have not only a 25-storey new Mantralaya or swanky new apartments for the ministers, but there are also plans to keep a lot of open spaces, walkways for pedestrians and a car park with a capacity to accommodate 5,000 cars, said an official.
We have sent a proposal for makeover of the Nariman Point area for which MMRDA is the special planning authority (SPA). Though our jurisdiction as SPA is towards the north of Mantralaya, we have proposed the redevelopment of the building as well as the ministers bungalows, keeping in mind the holistic development of the area, said a top MMRDA official.
In Nariman Point, the government of Maharashtra has about 1.6 lakh square metres of space available.
With an FSI of 4, it will have 6.4 lakh square metres built up space available with it. Assuming that with 1.5 FSI, the space already consumed is close to 2.4 lakh square metres, the state government will have about 4 lakh square metres space available.
Private owners have about 2.2 lakh square metres space at present.
With an FSI of 4, that will go up to 8.8 lakh square metres. Assuming that with FSI of 2.5 at present, the space consumed is 5.5 lakh square metres, private owners will have about 3.3 lakh square metres excess space available as per the MMRDA proposal which was given to the chief minister in December last year.
The government structures in the area belong to various departments though the land entirely belongs to the state government. The government will have to take an initiative to acquire the land and let us redevelop it. This is likely to generate more than Rs10,000 crore, which the MMRDA intends to utilise for future infrastructure projects in the region, said the official.