The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) Improvements Committee has deferred a proposal to lease 15 acres of the reclaimed Mulund dumping ground to Navbharat Mega Developers Private Limited (NMDPL), citing environmental concerns and seeking further clarification from the civic administration.
The land was proposed to be leased for setting up a casting yard and a ready-mix concrete (RMC) plant to support the Dharavi Redevelopment Project. NMDPL is jointly owned by Adani Properties Private Limited (80%) and the state government’s Slum Rehabilitation Authority (20%).
Committee chairperson and Shiv Sena corporator Sandhya Doshi said members had raised several technical concerns before deciding to send the proposal back to the administration for reconsideration.
“We have sent back the proposal to the administration since there are several ambiguities regarding the setting up of the casting yard and the RMC plant. Mulund is a densely populated area, and the civic administration will have to explain how this project will not create environmental problems for residents,” Doshi said. “The administration will have to resubmit the proposal after answering these queries, following which it will be considered for clearance,” she added.
Under the proposal, the lease rent has been fixed at Rs 252 per square metre. NMDPL would pay Rs 9.17 crore in advance, equivalent to six months’ rent, followed by monthly payments of Rs 1.52 crore, with a 6% escalation every six months. Over the proposed five-year lease period, the BMC is expected to earn around Rs 103.47 crore.
The developer has also been assigned the task of removing the remaining waste mound at the site over a period of 14 months at an estimated cost of ₹20 crore. This amount would be adjusted against the lease rental, reducing the BMC’s net earnings from the project to approximately Rs 83 crore.
Opposition members questioned the financial and environmental implications of the proposal.
“The BMC has already spent hundreds of crores cleaning up the garbage at this landfill. Then why is the civic body paying an additional Rs 20 crore to NMDPL?” asked Sachin Padwal, a Shiv Sena (UBT) corporator and committee member.
Congress corporator Ashraf Azmi said, “The Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) rules suggest that a landfill site should not be put to human use for at least 15 years after the completion of bioremediation. Handing over the land now is against established environmental norms.”
Seven Hills Hospital Lease Gets Green Signal
Meanwhile, the Improvements Committee approved a revised proposal to lease Mumbai’s Seven Hills Hospital to a private operator, two months after asking the civic administration to review the plan over concerns related to treatment charges.
“The proposal was cleared because resuming operations at Seven Hills Hospital will strengthen Mumbai’s healthcare infrastructure. The BMC will initially reserve 76 beds where treatment will be provided to citizens at subsidised rates. The civic body also expects to generate around Rs 223 crore in revenue through the lease,” Doshi said.
Source: The Indian Express
