MRVC set to lease out surplus land for commercial use

MUMBAI: The Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC), has received approval from the Maharashtra government for commercial exploitation of surplus land, which will help it raising money.

“We have been authorised recently to commercially exploit spare land of around 45,000 sq metres at Bandra (E). The tender is likely to be invited during this week and we hope to generate Rs 1,000 crore from the open bidding process,” said PC Sehgal, MD, MRVC.

The land can be used for varied purposes including malls and offices but will be governed by regulations mentioned in the contract and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) regulations.

The funds generated will be utilised in implementing new railway projects in Mumbai, Maharashtra and elsewhere in the country. “About 1/3 of the funds will be utilised for Mumbai, 1/3 for Maharashtra and the rest in accordance with the Railway Board plans,” added Mr Sehgal.

Once the Bandra (E) land is successfully leased out, new locations will also be identified for commercial exploitation of railway land. Steps have been taken for commercial exploitation of surplus land at Oshiwara, Elphinstone, Parel and Carnac Bunder sites.

“On the lines of Bandra, excess land at these places can also be exploited and will help us in generating funds of around Rs 1,000-2,000 crore,” added Mr Sehgal. Discussing the development on the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP), Mr Sehgal said that work on the 5th and 6th line between Kurla and Thane, a vital component of MUTP, is set to resume from next month. This project among a host of others, had earlier been stalled mid-way on account of resettlement & rehabilitation (R&R) issues.

“MMRDA has assured us that they will remove all encroachments by the end of September. If that takes place then the work on the section will be start soon and should be completed within 18 months,” said Prabhat Sahai, chief public relations officer, Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation. The 5th and 6th line between Kurla and Thane is a vital element of the MUTP project and is expected to sharply reduce the congestion on the existing clogged suburban train network. Moreover, it will also facilitate as a separate corridor for mail, express and goods trains, establishing direct connectivity from CST to Thane.

Encroachment affecting various other rail and road components, to be undertaken under the MUTP, have also been removed and work is scheduled to begin in the coming month. Moreover, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is confident of rehabilitating all project affected persons (PAPs) under the MUTP project by the end of this year.

“By December, ’06, R&R under MUTP will be completed and may be even before,” said RK Sonawane, chief (R&R), MMRDA. Out of a total of over 22,829 PAPs under MUTP, almost 16,127 PAPs have been resettled till date, while work on the remainder is still on. The tenements have the option of choosing between various housing locations which have been developed by MMRDA.

The illegal tenements have been provided with permanent housing of 225sq ft carpet area, per project affected household, free of cost. An approximate of Rs 480 crore has already been incurred by MMRDA on the R&R component.