Maharashtra: MCZMA nod to 21-storey tower in Malabar Hill for ministers

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Chandrakant Naik, executive engineer of Mumbai Presidency Division of PWD, said, “We will construct a 21-storey tower here and each minister will get a four-bedroom hall house. There will be quarters for servants and also meeting halls. Visitors will have separate lifts and the ministers will have theirs. We have already issued a work order for this project and were waiting for the MCZMA clearance so that work can start. We have also have a three-storeyed facility for parking.”

At present, a number of ministers don’t have bungalows while some former ministers are still staying in the bungalows earlier allotted to them. As a result, a few ministers of the state have to stay in flats meant for bureaucrats which, in turn, reduces the number of flats for serving officers.

A senior PWD officer said that soon after the state police housing corporation constructed a tower called Nilima, IAS officers wanted a tower in place of Puratan, but later ministers wanted their accommodation on the plot.

The plot of Puratan is spread over an area of 20,000 sq feet.

The MCZMA also cleared an art plaza in Nandadeep garden area of BKC which is being developed by Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). The garden is located opposite Kalanagar. MMRDA commissioner S V R Srinivas said, “We have developed one phase of this at Kalanagar and the balance part is in Nandadeep Garden and this needed a clearance from CRZ. We will have a music plaza, art plaza, bay for pedestrians, green spaces, open air theatre. We want to showcase BKC not just as a financial centre, but one that also promotes social and art functions.”

The MCZMA also cleared a proposal to have Dharavi’s largest recreational park under the BKC connector, spread over 87,000 sq feet. At present, the largest park in Dharavi is 80000 sq feet and is named as Shahid Abdul Hamid park. This project is being implemented by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

BMC’s assistant commissioner Kiran Dighavkar, in charge of the G North ward, said, “We had issued a work order, but a CRZ permission was required. The MMRDA had removed the hutments and we feared that they will come up again. This garden will be developed under the BKC connector from Sion to BKC and will be the largest garden for Dharavi.”