MMRDA to lend to civic bodies
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has turned a lender for several urban development projects proposed by municipal corporations in the Mumbai metropolitan region.
By TNN |
MUMBAI: The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has turned a lender for several urban development projects proposed by municipal corporations in the Mumbai metropolitan region. MMRDA has decided to lend Rs 78 crore to the municipal corporations of Thane, Mira-Bhayander and Bhiwandi which fall in the 4,355 sq km Mumbai metropolitan region, MMRDA sources said.
The loan has been extended at an interest rate of 8% and MMRDA would soon sign an agreement with each of these municipal bodies to firm up the terms and conditions, sources said. The terms and conditions would ensure that the civic bodies spend the amount only on the specified projects, sources added.
“The loan has been sanctioned under the state government’s plan of integrating cities and towns in the metropolitan region with the island city. Unless urban infrastructure is developed in the metropolitan region, we cannot exploit the full economic potential of this huge urban and semi-urban sprawl,” said a senior MMRDA official.
The Mira-Bhayander municipal corporation would get a loan of Rs 50 crore for road improvement and storm water drain projects, while the Thane municipal corporation would get Rs 17 crore to buy 87 CNG-powered city buses. MMRDA has sanctioned Rs 11 crore to the Bhiwandi civic body.
MMRDA had loaned out other state government agencies and the state government itself in the past. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has taken a loan of around Rs 500 crore from MMRDA as loan for different projects, sources said. Before that, MMRDA had bailed out the state government by lending a huge sum towards payment to cotton growers. However, very little of the loans released by MMRDA have been repaid so far, sources said.
The loan has been extended at an interest rate of 8% and MMRDA would soon sign an agreement with each of these municipal bodies to firm up the terms and conditions, sources said. The terms and conditions would ensure that the civic bodies spend the amount only on the specified projects, sources added.
“The loan has been sanctioned under the state government’s plan of integrating cities and towns in the metropolitan region with the island city. Unless urban infrastructure is developed in the metropolitan region, we cannot exploit the full economic potential of this huge urban and semi-urban sprawl,” said a senior MMRDA official.
The Mira-Bhayander municipal corporation would get a loan of Rs 50 crore for road improvement and storm water drain projects, while the Thane municipal corporation would get Rs 17 crore to buy 87 CNG-powered city buses. MMRDA has sanctioned Rs 11 crore to the Bhiwandi civic body.
MMRDA had loaned out other state government agencies and the state government itself in the past. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has taken a loan of around Rs 500 crore from MMRDA as loan for different projects, sources said. Before that, MMRDA had bailed out the state government by lending a huge sum towards payment to cotton growers. However, very little of the loans released by MMRDA have been repaid so far, sources said.
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