The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will change the horse tabela (stable) reservation at Mahalaxmi Racecourse for the construction of the underground metro and monorail parking shed at Mahalaxmi. The corporation will bring the change of reservation proposal in BMC’s improvements committee meeting soon.
According to senior civic officials, the state government’s urban development department has written to the BMC asking to clear all hurdles pertaining to the metro and monorail projects for its early execution. “The MMRDA has asked us to waive the octroi and property tax, and clear illegal construction on the land where the metro route will come up,” he said.
MMRDA will develop an underground car shed in 17 hectares of plot at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse. This car shed facility has been created for metro project III that will connect Colaba, Mahim and Bandra. The route from Colaba to Mahim will be underground and the Mahim to Bandra metro will be elevated. It will consist of Mantralaya, Churchgate, Mahalaxmi, Worli and Mahim stations and this same line will be extended up to the airport at Santa Cruz.
“We are preparing a proposal for change of user from racecourse to other activities. And subsequently, it will be tabled before the BMC’s improvements committee meeting soon. After approval of this committee, the state government will issue a notification inviting suggestions and objections. It will take at least a couple of months to complete the procedure. We are making it our top priority. The proposed car shed will be underground so it will not affect horse races and related activities,” he said.
Initially, the government had identified 28 hectares of land at Backbay Reclamation for the proposed car shed. However, in the feasibility study, it was found that Backbay Reclamation falls under Coastal regulation zone (CRZ) - I where commercial development is restricted. It would also have hampered the ecological balance through soil erosion. In addition, it would have cost much more to rehabilitate the slum dwellers there to acquire the land.
“So, as an alternate place, we identified Mahalaxmi Racecourse. We have had a couple of meetings with the civic chief and hope that things move fast. There should be no delays in the metro project,” said a Mantralaya official.
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