Urban experts criticize the rationality of the state government’s proposed economic cluster on Worli Dairy property
MUMBAI: The 16.25-acre Worli land where the Maharashtra government’s dairy development department had stood is being considered for the establishment of a commercial cluster. Urban planners have advised that a world-class urban green park be built on the site instead of constructing yet another concrete jungle in a congested metropolis that already has multiple economic areas.
A proposal to designate MMRDA as a special planning authority to develop the area held by the shuttered dairies in Worli and Kurla was agreed upon at a recent MMRDA board meeting with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. As a result, MMRDA intends to create a commercial center on the Worli land piece. The state government will now make another call. Infrastructure projects funded by MMRDA are made possible by the monetization of attractive land parcels such as this one.
This is the fourth government plan for the Worli Dairyland in ten years. The state government considered erecting a monument of Chhatrapati Shivaji on the Worli property in 2012 after the Union environment ministry voiced objections to the plan to do so in the Arabian Sea. Afterward, other options for monetizing the Worli dairy property were considered by the BJP-Shiv Sena administration led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. At that time, the land was valued at about 15,000 crore.
Aaditya Thackeray, the then-tourism minister under the MVA, came up with a more ecologically friendly proposal in 2020, and the Uddhav Thackeray administration gave the site to the urban development department so that it could be developed into a tourist complex that included an aquarium and an urban forest. A maritime research center, an exhibition space, and an underground parking garage were also planned.
The property was returned to the dairy development department and Aaditya Thackeray’s idea was abandoned after the June 2022 government transition. Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, the minister of dairy development, had hinted earlier this year that the government intended to build a conference center there. A seven-person cabinet subcommittee led by Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was also created by the Shinde administration to examine development proposals for the property. It has now been revealed that MMRDA has been designated to determine the land’s future after the recent conference in Nagpur.
The idea has not pleased urban planners. Chandrashekhar Prabhu said, “The business hub will be nothing but another concrete jungle leading to more traffic issues and air pollution in Worli.” He also added that those with vested interests have ingrained such flashy concepts in the minds of politicians. “First, a public open area is being taken away by the government. If the site has to be developed, it ought to be turned into a top-notch urban park for the city, complete with food courts, kid-friendly play spaces, and plants. This would boost the travel industry, generate jobs, and establish a new green tourist destination in Mumbai.
According to Pankaj Joshi, the main director of the Mumbai-based Urban Centre Trust, the government could think about mixed land use, which would guarantee a green area for public use in addition to workplaces, rather than a solely corporate hub. “The Worli area needs open space and employment space as part of urban planning, as many residential projects are coming up there,” he said.
The sole proposal for an aquarium and open space in the public interest, according to Aaditya Thackeray, is that of Sachin Ahir, an MLC from the Thackeray faction who served as the Worli constituency’s representative from 2009 to 2014. According to this proposal, the property would have stayed open, he said. We now learn that the state government’s goals are solely commercial. The proposal has to serve the public interest; if it serves the interests of a private organization, we will speak out against it.
