The man who brought to Maharashtra, India’s first express highway, R C Sinha, MD of CIDCO, talks about how Mumbai can realise its dream of becoming a world class metropolis.
The man who brought to Maharashtra, India’s first express highway, R C Sinha, MD of City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) talks about how Mumbai can realise its dream of becoming a world class metropolis.
What are the projects being planned for Mumbai’s satellite towns?
We are planning a special economic zone in the southern New Mumbai area — the New Mumbai Special Economic Zone (NMSEZ), where we’re expecting a lot of world class industrial production and technological units to be set up. This is bound to create tremendous employment and skill improvement opportunities. It will also impact the hinterlands of Maharashtra positively, and thus reduce the pressure on Mumbai city.
Is Mumbai’s development stagnating?
Not at all. We are anticipating a new airport in the Mumbai metropolitan regional development area, but there are some difficulties to be overcome.
Our politicians dream of converting Mumbai into Shanghai. Is it realistic?
Developing Mumbai is one thing, but converting it into Shanghai is another, and for that, you need physical and social infrastructure on a different scale.
The roads, population density and construction of buildings are all congruent with each other in Shanghai. For example, the height of the flyovers should match the quality of the roads, and proportion of the cars on the roads. Where is the space for such roads and flyovers in Mumbai? More junctions, space between flyovers, and cut-off links can increase mobility. But to achieve this we need much more space and funds.
People keep talking of having a CEO to run the city. Will corporatisation help?
Unless you are able to build at least one level below the CEO, it will not be effective. Having a CEO for the purposes of basic planning is not a bad idea. But then, even the MMRDA chairman can be entrusted with this job of planning and coordinating, with supervisory powers. The daily inspection, and the nitty-gritty should be left to the internal agencies.
Is Mumbai getting enough funds for its development?
There is no doubt that Mumbai is not getting the kind of resources it deserves. This is the core issue. There has to be a basic calculation, and matching done, of the taxes collected, and the money going from Mumbai, and how much it gets back for its development.
Why do politicians shy away from investing in Mumbai, and focus on the rest of Maharashtra?
There are so many problems in interior Maharashtra that the government is not in a position to say that they want to give priority to the urban areas. They don't look at Mumbai as a source of investment from where they can get more returns.
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