Authority has spoken out against the plan to use saltpan land for building a million affordable homes.
Another war of words has broken out between Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), with MMRDA claiming that though the BMC’s Draft Development Plan (DP) 2034 proposes using saltpan land for constructing one million affordable homes by 2034, the same is not feasible as the available land is in pieces and maximum floor space index (FSI) cannot be exploited.
Meanwhile, the BMC is claiming that it proposes to use available saltpan land for construction of metro car depots which require less FSI as compared to construction of homes.
This newspaper had reported how an ongoing MMRDA study, directed by the state urban development department, for construction of affordable homes on saltpan land in the city, had indicated that nearly 75 per cent of the total 2,177 hectares (5,379 acre) could not be used due to Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) guidelines, and this would be a major hindrance when acquiring saltpan land.
The BMC, in its Draft Development Plan, has proposed to create one million affordable houses by 2034, and plans to grant a FSI of 4 for the same. “We have conducted a study and found that the figure, if considered for constructing houses, will be very less, and the land available is in pieces and one cannot construct much on it. So we are thinking of suggesting that the urban development department grant saltpan land for constructing car depots for our metro corridors, considering that we are facing problems while acquiring land for such depots in the city,” said a senior MMRDA official.
Saltpan lands are present in areas such as Mandala, Wadala, Pahadi in Goregaon, Ghatkopar, Bhandup and Mulund and MMRDA’s proposed D.N. Nagar-Mankhurd-Mandala Metro 2B; Wadala-Ghatkopar-Thane-Kasarvadavali Metro 4 corridor; and D.N. Nagar-Dahisar Metro 2A corridors pass through these lands.
However, this is not the first time that BMC and MMRDA are fighting over land. In 2014, BMC was opposed to a MMRDA proposal for being appointed as special planning authority for areas along proposed metro corridors.
