mills update bombay

Mills to develop into a new city center @ parel

The Supreme Court verdict, allowing unfettered development of mill lands brings to a close a bitterly fought struggle between the green lobby and the builders combine. The agenda is now set for commercial and residential development of 600 acres of land spread over sixty textile mills in Parel and laubaug in central Mumbai. .The decision will make 4 million square feet of developed land available in Mumbai within two years.
Fears have been expressed that the new development may at best stabilize the price of commercial space in Mumbai - but may not bring it down by much. The DLF group has proposed the development of a one million square feet mega mall on the NCT land it bought while India bulls –the group that successfully bid for two mills - is to redevelop for commercial space.
This leaves very little new property for residential purposes. The average bidding price for mill lands at the auctions was Rs. 15,000 per square feet. The price will naturally be much higher once development and marketing costs are factored by the builders. The residential property on offer given is unlikely to be within the reach of the middle class. What it may do however, is to take the price pressure off the better properties in the suburbs - and bring a general ceiling to land prices rising in the near future.
This may be just what Mumbai needed given that it will slow a sudden downturn in price. The deal may deflate the price bubble and reduce the chances of a burst..
For the greens the court order is a blow. They had hoped for 400 acres of green space from the mill land redevelopment scheme. However, with the Supreme Court upholding the the amendment in 2001, that changed the availability of free land these hopes have been dashed. The city will end up getting only about 60 across of green land in the new deal. This is bad news or Mumbai, by contrast Lodi Gardens, just one of the open spaces in Delhi is over 100 acres in spread. The order means that Mumbai landscape in terms of gardens walks and such like - that are a given in all the other great cities of the world is unlikely to change much. The ration of open space per thousand person is .003 acres in Mumbai and that is likely to remain unchanged.While the greens may have lost this immediate battle, they will do well to fight on. The docklands – the size of 60 Nariman points are likely to come up for redevelopment at some stage in the future an active campaign could yet help develop a green lung for the city.

Mumbai needs to be more cosmo not less

Bombay needs Cosmo character
Mumbai has many attractions that work as a magnet for investors. It has a tradition of commerce, a deep-sea port, a vibrant stock market and most of all a hardworking workforce and a cosmopolitan culture. These values have combined to make it a financial powerhouse with a majority of Indian and multi national firms headquartered in the island city.
The cosmopolitan culture of the city though is under fresh attack. Like its ramshackle infrastructure, cosmopolitan Mumbai is degrading by the day. The latest assault comes from a politician known for his strident chauvinistic line.
The controversy started with Raj thackery’s comments on film star Amithabh Bachchan questioning his credentials as a true citizen of the city just because he was the brand ambassador of another state - Utter Pradesh.
He also questioned the right of religious festivities observed by migrant labors from uttar Pradesh and Bihar. His followers bashed up people of these states at a political rally the next day for good measure.
While it is true that there has been a slow and continues process of ghettoizing of Mumbai since the 1970’s, when Shiv Sena a party pioneered pandering to lower middle class Marathi chauvinism with attacks on Gujratis and South Indians of the city. The Mumbai riots in the 80’s further ghettoized the city. Even earlier during British times Mumbai was neatly divided among communal lines with different clubs and residents for different communities leading to an ethnic separation. However the difference between that time and now is that Mumbai's people worked and co existed as one.
If Mumbai is to remain the financial center and commercial capital of India this slide in communal harmony and cosmopolitan way of life needs to been arrested immediately.
In a global world the Indian state often needs to take a stand when Indian minorities are harassed overseas. Most recently this happened in Malaysia and Kenya. Ethnic Indians also face visa discrimination in the UK. A country can hardly take a stand on such issues if at home its own people are treated as outsiders with impunity. It is for the center to take a stand put an end to this dangerous trend of rule by the mob. Capital flees ghettos and embraces stability this is a lesson Mumbai knows well. Not to arrest this slide now will tantamount to killing the proverbial goose that lays the golden eggs