BMC Approves 15-Acre Mulund Land Lease for Dharavi Redevelopment
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's Improvement Committee has approved a proposal to lease approximately 15 acres of reclaimed land at the Mulund dumping ground to the Dharavi Redevelopment Project for five years. The transaction is projected to generate an estimated Rs 103.47 crore in revenue for the civic body.
Under the cleared proposal, 60,703 square metres of land will be handed over to Navbharat Mega Developers Pvt Ltd. The site will be utilized to set up a casting yard, a precast manufacturing unit, and a ready-mix concrete plant to support construction activity for the Dharavi project.
The BMC fixed the rent at Rs 252 per square metre per month, incorporating a 6 per cent annual increase, which yields an estimated Rs 103.47 crore across five years. The private developer will invest Rs 20.04 crore in site remediation, an amount that will be adjusted against the lease rent. This leaves the BMC with a net rent of Rs 83.44 crore, bringing the total payment including GST to approximately Rs 100 crore.
The parcel will be handed over on an "as is where is" basis and must be restricted strictly to the sanctioned facilities. Biomining is currently underway at the location, which holds an estimated 2.5 to 3 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste that will be removed prior to the handover. The developer is required to obtain all statutory clearances, manage legacy waste per environmental norms, and deploy security measures including CCTV cameras and access control.
The decision witnessed opposition within the committee, with corporators from Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress objecting to the land allotment. In response, BJP corporator from Mulund Prakash Gangadhare defended the move, asserting that the land was being allocated for the benefit of the redevelopment initiative.
BJP corporator Aneesh Makwaney stated that formal procedures were followed and noted that the redevelopment initiative aims to provide permanent housing to Dharavi residents living in substandard conditions. Sandhya Doshi, Chairperson of the Improvement Committee, stated that all committee members were given an opportunity to share their views before the proposal was formally sanctioned.
