Three prime BMC plots in island city to be auctioned

MUMBAI: With a large number of infra projects being launched in the city, the BMC has decided to auction three of its prime plots in the island city, including one in Malabar Hill, to generate resources. This is the first time that the BMC will lease out its plots, something that institutions like MMRDA and MSRDC have done so far, monetising their land banks to raise money for the infrastructure projects implemented by them.
According to the BMC’s tender document, its three plots will be leased for 30 years with a provision of renewal for another 30 years. One of the plots used to house Chhatrapati Shivaji Market near Crawford Market. It had a four-storey building that housed several BMC offices, with the ground floor used as a wholesale market by the fisher community. The building was demolished in 2015 after it was declared dilapidated. The fish sellers refused to vacate the premises and sell fish every morning on the ground floor.
The BMC’s executive engineer Lalitkumar Shah, who issued the tender, asserted that the market was demolished long ago. Sources in the BMC said that the Reserve Bank of India once wanted the plot for its corporate office but later dropped the idea, as it got another furnished space.
The second plot houses a Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) receiving station at Malabar Hill, which is “dilapidated” according to the tender document. BMC sources said that though BEST has the plot, the property card mentions the BMC as land owner. Shah said that BEST had agreed to give the plot back to the BMC.
The third plot is at Lower Parel and houses an asphalt plant and BMC testing lab. The area of all three plots and their minimum expected price is not mentioned in the tender.
When questioned about the auctioning off of BMC land, Shah said, “There was no utilisation of these properties. We want to commercially exploit them by auctioning them. We want to see how many parties are interested.” Another BMC officer offered the rationale that the plots could get encroached or a private party could demand them for rental housing as has happened with other government plots recently.
“The BMC has taken up many infrastructure projects and needs resource generation,” said BMC commissioner Bhushan Gagrani, who added that this would be done “without compromising on public reservation”.
Gagrani and additional commissioner Abhijit Bangar have put the brakes on a lot of wasteful expenditure and so-called beautification programmes. In one of the review meetings, Gagrani had also pointed out that two major projects, the Dahisar-Mira Bhayander stretch of coastal road and the Mulund-Goregaon tunnel, would drain the BMC’s finances in the next few years. Bangar has decided to now implement a fiscal discipline plan.
Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray in his Dussehra rally speech yesterday slammed “the loot of the BMC’s finances”. He recalled how BMC had reserves of ₹90,000 crore, which were depleted due to wasteful expenditure by the Eknath Shinde-led government.
Speaking to Hindustan Times, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray said, “The BMC controlled by Eknath Shinde is only hell-bent on selling Mumbai to Shinde’s favoured cronies. We will scrap the leases of these plots, whosoever gets them, when we come to power.”