Why we lost our mills

 

MUMBAI: Land has to be more liberally utilised if the city has to cater to the housing needs of its bludgeoning population, Sanjay Ubale, secretary (special projects) said at the launch of Mills for Sale: The way ahead, a book edited by social activist Darryl D’Monte, on Friday.

 

“Low FSI is anti poor,” said Ubale, advocating the need for higher floor space index (FSI). “A rethink is needed to raise the FSI levels as it is a way to develop houses.” A compilation of essays by architects, planners, activists intimately connected with the mill redevelopment issue, Mills for Sale… details how the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to plan 600 acres of defunct textile mill land was lost.

 

D’Monte said, “The book will serve as a reminder of what the city has lost and what needs to be done to avoid such blunders in future. It is also to point to the alternatives that still exist and what implications there are for other large derelict industrial sites.’’ Former municipal commissioner and social activist Jamshed Kanga said, “Lack of proper planning caused this problem. All decisions were taken in an ad-hoc manner in favour of builders. The MMRDA has forgotten that it is a planning body and now operates like a road building agency.’’

 

Structural engineer and civic activist Shirish Patel said that the city has the highest population density occupying per gross hectare of land. Eminent Architect Charles Correa asked for east-west corridors to be developed.