Three prime BMC plots in island city will be auctioned

By Bricksnwall | 2024-10-14

BMC is to auction three prominent properties in Mumbai, including one in Malabar Hill, to fund infrastructure projects amid financial concerns.

MUMBAI: With a slew of infrastructure projects underway in the city, the BMC has decided to auction three of its best plots in the island city, including one in Malabar Hill, to raise funds. This is the first time the BMC will lease out its plots, a practice that institutions such as MMRDA and MSRDC have previously used to fund infrastructure projects.

According to the BMC's procurement document, the three plots will be leased for 30 years, with an option to renew for another 30 years. One of the plots used to host the Chhatrapati Shivaji Market near Crawford Market. It had a four-story building that contained various BMC offices, with the ground floor serving as a wholesale market for the fishing community. The structure was dismantled in 2015 after being judged decrepit. The fish sellers refused to leave the premises and continued to sell fish every morning on the ground floor.

The tender was issued by the BMC's executive engineer, Lalitkumar Shah, who claimed that the market had been dismantled long ago. According to BMC sources, the Reserve Bank of India originally desired the land for its corporate office but eventually abandoned the plan after securing another furnished space.

According to the procurement document, the second property contains a Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) receiving station at Malabar Hill, which is "dilapidated". BMC sources indicated that, while BEST owns the plot, the property card lists the BMC as the landowner. Shah said that BEST has agreed to return the site to the BMC.

The third property is in Lower Parel and has an asphalt plant and a BMC testing lab. The tender does not specify the size of each of the three plots or the minimum expected price.

When asked about the auctioning off of BMC land, Shah stated, "There was no use for these properties." We intend to commercially utilise them by auctioning them. We want to know how many people are interested. Another BMC officer explained that the plots could be encroached on or a private party could demand them for rental homes, as has happened with other government sites recently.

"The BMC has taken up many infrastructure projects and needs resource generation," said BMC commissioner Bhushan Gagrani, who added that this will be done "without compromising public reservation".

Gagrani and extra commissioner Abhijit Bangar have put a stop to a lot of unnecessary spending and so-called beautification initiatives. Gagrani also stated at one of the review meetings that two big projects, the Dahisar-Mira Bhayander coastal road and the Mulund-Goregaon tunnel, will deplete the BMC's budget in the coming years. Bangar has opted to execute a financial discipline plan.

In his Dussehra rally speech yesterday, Shiv Sena (UBT) head Uddhav Thackeray denounced "the looting of the BMC's finances". The BMC's reserves of ₹90,000 crore were exhausted due to reckless expenditure by the Eknath Shinde-led government.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray told the Hindustan Times that the BMC, which is headed by Eknath Shinde, is just interested in selling Mumbai to Shinde's cronies. When we take power, we will cancel the leases on these plots, regardless of who obtains them.

Source: Hindustan Times