Mumbai continues to play a pivotal role in both Maharashtra’s and India’s economic growth, with the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) contributing nearly 6.1% to the country’s GDP, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner Ashwini Bhide said at the ‘1 Trillion Economy Maharashtra’ event in Mumbai.
Highlighting the city’s economic strength, Bhide said Mumbai must continue to evolve through policy reforms, infrastructure upgrades, improved service delivery, ease of doing business and enhanced liveability to sustain its growth trajectory.
She identified construction and real estate, financial and technology services, and the media and entertainment sectors as the primary engines powering Mumbai’s economy.
“There are three to four major growth drivers for a greater Mumbai: the construction and real estate industry, which contributes substantially to Mumbai’s economy; the financial and tech services segment; and the entertainment and media industry. These remain the main pillars of growth for Mumbai.
“But going forward, we need not only build upon them but also look for other areas. The government and institutions like the municipal corporation have to contribute through policy interventions and improving the liveability in the city by providing better infrastructure,” said Bhide.
The civic chief said the BMC is focused on strengthening urban infrastructure and citizen services through projects such as the Mumbai Coastal Road and a comprehensive flood mitigation programme being developed in coordination with the Union government.
“We are also working on how to mitigate flood risks with the Union government. A huge project is already prepared, which will improve the way we fight floods,” she said.
Reflecting on her two decades of experience with infrastructure projects, Bhide described Mumbai as a complex brownfield city where development involves challenges related to land acquisition, rehabilitation, legal issues, underground utilities and coastal regulations.
She also emphasised the importance of adopting technology in governance, saying she hopes to be remembered for introducing greater use of artificial intelligence and digital solutions to improve public service delivery and make civic administration more citizen-centric.
Source: The Week
