After facing protests over commercially utilising a piece of land in Aarey Colony for Metro 3, the Maharashtra government is now planning to build a commercial complex in Nariman Point.
According to Indian Express, a proposal for the allotment of a 1.81 lakh square feet land near Vidhan Bhavan to the state-run Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL), which is building the 33-km Metro rail route, is in the final stages of approval. The piece of land on which the state government will build a Mumbai Metro's commercial complex had housed offices of political parties and several other government offices for more than three decades.
These offices were shifted to Ballard Pier in 2015 alternate locations with the government allotting the land to the MMRCL for the purpose of building the casting yard and other rail related works for the project. The report further states that the MMRCL had origannly identified three-hectare land patch in Aarey Colony to a commercial complex. But now the MMRCL has proposed construction of an office complex at the Nariman Point location for leasing out purposes.
After facing intense opposition for commercial development in Aarey Colony, the government disallowed the commercial use. Seeking an alternate location for property development, MMRCL’s Managing Director Ashwini Bhide had first approached the government for allotment of the Nariman Point land on a permanent basis for commercial development last December, reported Indian Express.
