It is about to gift over Rs500 crore of citizens property in Crawford market and a few thousand crore across all Municipal Markets!
If the poorest citizen who has some land on which there are tenants, sees a possibility of developing it, what does he do? He approaches builders and figures out who will offer the highest sum to him.
This simple principle has not occurred to the BMC. It is about to gift over Rs500 crore of citizens property in Crawford market and a few thousand crore across all Municipal Markets!
The information given under Right To Information from the Market department of BMCmakes horrifying reading. I have obtained copies of the proposal using RTI.
The primary reason for this grand policy and proposal is that the BMC claims it wants to provide markets to citizens. It laments that since it does not have resources, it seeks to give all the benefits to tenants and developers.
Under this policy, the tenants negotiate with the developers, and MCGM gifts the developer extra FSI, which will ultimately burden the infrastructure. In return, it gets some constructed space free of cost, calculated as a percentage.
Using information regarding the financial implication of the Crawford redevelopment proposal, procured under Right To Information, it becomes clear that the BMC,- the owner of the land,- gets free construction cost of Rs42.4 crore and allows the tenants and developer to gain over Rs1000 crore
There are enough private developers of markets. The proposed development will also have an undesirable impact on traffic and amenities. We are creating a nightmare, apart from changing the Heritage skyline.
If there are strong reasons for this development, the developer could be appointed as a contractor or given the property on six-year lease basis. This will generate more revenue to the BMC.
Every Mumbaikar including the poorest loses about 1000 rupees in this. The corporation put the proposal aside in October, 2006-perhaps because of the impending elections.
Now they are planning to revive it. Unless citizens and media oppose this, it the disrobing of citizens by Rs1000 crore will proceed.
—(The writer is an former IIT professor and renowned Right to Information activist)
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