urban planners

BDD chawls

Indian Railways

Mumbai Metropolitan Region

Central Railway

Shiv Sena MP Rahul Shewale

redevelopment schemes

slum rehabilitation

Railways says the idea is to raise Rs 50,000 crore to fund an array of projects in Mumbai;warn this would only worsen congestion in the city.This should have every builder in the city rubbing his hands in glee. After the mill land sale and the redevelopment of, it’s theentering the redevelopment game in Mumbai.The railways is considering a proposal to partner private developers to redevelop its residential colonies spread across the city. At a conservative estimate, this will open up over 240 acres of land for development.The mill land sale had generated 600 acres in south and central Mumbai, while the BDD chawls redevelopment will yield 92 acres.The Western Railway has 15 staff colonies in(MMR) and thehas 68.The idea, sources in the railways say, is to raise Rs 50,000 crore needed for an array of projects in Mumbai, including the CST-Panvel elevated corridor, new AC trains, fifth and sixth lines between Borivali and Virar, and third and fourth lines between Kalyan and Badlapur.Urban planners, however, warn that the redevelopment will only worsen congestion in the city. Environmentalist Debi Goenka, who had filed a writ petition against opening up of mill land, said: “The railways were given land for providing services to people and it can’t act like a private builder. If it thinks it has excess land that can be redeveloped, it should be given back to the BMC or the state government,” he said.The proposal has already been put before the all-powerful Convention Committee of the Indian Railways. The committee reviews and recommends action of key projects. The proposal was moved bylast week.Parallely, the railways is negotiating with the state government to secure an FSI of four or five for the redevelopment projects. Currently FSI of four is allowed for various, such asWhile Central Railway has residential colonies in Parel, Matunga, Mumbai central, Bandra, Andheri Borivali and Virar among other places, Western Railway’s residential quarters scattered all across the Mumbai Metropolitan region from south Mumbai to distant suburbs.