Thane, Vasai, Panvel part of MMR
Maharashtra urban development ministry has prepared a comprehensive development plan (CDP) for the entire Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) that looks beyond the city to include suburbs like Thane, Vasai and Panvel.
By Abhiram Ghadyalpatil, TNN |
MUMBAI: Maharashtra urban development ministry has prepared a comprehensive development plan (CDP) for the entire Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) that looks beyond the city to include suburbs like Thane, Vasai and Panvel.
This will help the state’s planning process of preparing various infrastructure projects and seek necessary funds from the Centre for funds, top officials told ET.
“The system that we have been following is project-specific. We identify infrastructure projects, prepare detailed project reports (DPR), and submit them to the Centre for funds. A new concept that has evolved at the Union government level is that big cities like Mumbai or Delhi should widen this project-specific model and look at their urbanisable hinterland as their inherent parts. The Centre wants us to draw a composite plan for the entire MMR region so that the entire region grows,” an official said.
The Centre had asked the state to submit the CDP by June 15 before it sought approval for projects under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNURM), sources said. The plan would be submitted to the Centre after the state Cabinet approves it in the following week.
The CPD estimates that a 15-year-long business plan for MMR would require an investment of Rs 2.25 lakh crore. “But most of this investment is estimated to come from the private sector. The government will only have to invest in creation of infrastructure that facilitates this investment in MMR,” the official said.
The development strategy that the CDP proposes for MMR has three major aspects — inclusive socio-economic growth, infrastructure development that facilitates growth, and public private partnership. “Proposals that we will henceforth be submitting to the centre will facilitate the socio-economic growth of entire MMR. For example, the proposal for Thane Metro will have to be clubbed with Mumbai Metro as part of the larger mass transport strategy,” an official said.
“The CPD looks at the entire MMR as one huge urban and urbanisable conglomerate which needs a holistic development plan. It thinks of Thane, Panvel, Alibaugh, Vasai-Virar, Bhiwandi, and Badlapur as urban or semi-urban pockets of Mumbai and not as distant suburbs or townships. It’s for the first time that we have been able to create a larger picture for MMR’s urban and economic development,” an official who was a key member of the group that prepared the CDP told ET.
Officials said the centre had asked the state to plan for MMR in 2006 when several of the proposals submitted under JNURM were rejected by the Centre. “Most of the DPRs got rejected because they were ideas in isolation,” an official said.
The state had submitted Thane Metro proposal worth Rs 852 crore but the centre directed that it be clubbed with Mumbai Metro. “The Centre wants the state to be clear about the projects exclusively for Mumbai and projects for MMR. Henceforth, only those proposals that can contribute towards the socio-economic growth of entire MMR would be considered under JNURM,” he added.
This will help the state’s planning process of preparing various infrastructure projects and seek necessary funds from the Centre for funds, top officials told ET.
“The system that we have been following is project-specific. We identify infrastructure projects, prepare detailed project reports (DPR), and submit them to the Centre for funds. A new concept that has evolved at the Union government level is that big cities like Mumbai or Delhi should widen this project-specific model and look at their urbanisable hinterland as their inherent parts. The Centre wants us to draw a composite plan for the entire MMR region so that the entire region grows,” an official said.
The Centre had asked the state to submit the CDP by June 15 before it sought approval for projects under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNURM), sources said. The plan would be submitted to the Centre after the state Cabinet approves it in the following week.
The CPD estimates that a 15-year-long business plan for MMR would require an investment of Rs 2.25 lakh crore. “But most of this investment is estimated to come from the private sector. The government will only have to invest in creation of infrastructure that facilitates this investment in MMR,” the official said.
The development strategy that the CDP proposes for MMR has three major aspects — inclusive socio-economic growth, infrastructure development that facilitates growth, and public private partnership. “Proposals that we will henceforth be submitting to the centre will facilitate the socio-economic growth of entire MMR. For example, the proposal for Thane Metro will have to be clubbed with Mumbai Metro as part of the larger mass transport strategy,” an official said.
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“The CPD looks at the entire MMR as one huge urban and urbanisable conglomerate which needs a holistic development plan. It thinks of Thane, Panvel, Alibaugh, Vasai-Virar, Bhiwandi, and Badlapur as urban or semi-urban pockets of Mumbai and not as distant suburbs or townships. It’s for the first time that we have been able to create a larger picture for MMR’s urban and economic development,” an official who was a key member of the group that prepared the CDP told ET.
Officials said the centre had asked the state to plan for MMR in 2006 when several of the proposals submitted under JNURM were rejected by the Centre. “Most of the DPRs got rejected because they were ideas in isolation,” an official said.
The state had submitted Thane Metro proposal worth Rs 852 crore but the centre directed that it be clubbed with Mumbai Metro. “The Centre wants the state to be clear about the projects exclusively for Mumbai and projects for MMR. Henceforth, only those proposals that can contribute towards the socio-economic growth of entire MMR would be considered under JNURM,” he added.
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