Battle lines have been drawn between state govt and Port Trust. With Public Investment Board clearing the expansion plans of MbPT, state officials were fuming.
Battle lines have been drawn between Maharashtra government and Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT). With Public Investment Board clearing the much-touted expansion plans of MbPT, state officials were fuming. They claimed they had been kept in the dark about the decision-making process. Mantralaya sources said CM Vilasrao Deshmukh had written a letter to Union Minister for Shipping TR Baalu.
“The expansion plans of MbPT will have deep impact on the city's infrastructure, especially traffic. Port officials should have informed the state, as well as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), about the same," said Sanjay Ubale, secretary, special projects.
The state was peeved for being kept in the dark about MbPT's decision of inviting tenders to turn Victoria and Princes docks into a parking lot for an off-shore terminal. The decision on the expression of interests invited for the project would be taken by the end of July. L&T and Gammon India have been shortlisted. A top MbPT official told DNA, “We have made our case to the PIB. We will discuss it with state officials at the appropriate juncture.”
MbPT officials said that the constant negative attitude shown by state government and top corporate houses to their expansion plans was aimed to wrench away a pie from the vast land owned by the port. Out of 752.7 hectare (8.05 crore sq ft) land, 401 hectare is used for port operations and residential quarters. Of the remaining 351 hectare, 305 hectare is rented out to a large number of tenants and lessees. “There are 20 landlords in Mumbai, who are bigger than us. So, why are we being singled out? There may be dilapidated buildings in the port area, but we have maintained open spaces for which the city would bless us in future,” said a top port official.
Stating that the port expansion was crucial for the economic growth of Mumbai, MbPT officials crtiticised leading corporate houses for asking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to ensure that the city benefited from the port growth. “We are the stakeholders in the city, but our views are never considered,” added the official.
Port officials have questioned the state’s stand. “What is their (state’s) problem? Both Victoria and Princess docks have become obsolete. Since we require storage space we are converting them into a stack yard. We do not need the state government’s permission for this,” said senior port official. Trashing state officials’ claims that port expansion plans would affect traffic, the official said, “We are investing in the Eastern Freeway and the Mumbai
Trans Harbour Link besides planning the Rs 131-crore dedicated freight rail corridor between Kurla and Wadala. There would be five exits for smooth evacuation of port traffic.”
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