Commissioner of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and state appointed administrator Bhushan Gagrani, who completed two months of his tenure this week, said on Tuesday that the visual transformation that Mumbai is witnessing owing to its infrastructure development will result in the maximum city's socio-economic transformation as well. "Earlier, when the Mumbai-Pune expressway was planned, there were a lot of apprehensions across sectors about this project. However today, Pune has emerged as one of the major IT and automobile hubs in India and the factor contributing behind its growth is the expressway, which has paved the way for development. In a similar way, the infrastructure projects that we are building today is going to bring about socio-economic impact in Mumbai," said Gagrani. The municipal commissioner was speaking to reporters during a brainstorming session 'Making Mumbai, Liveable, Modern City' at the Mumbai Press Club on Tuesday. "The coastal road and MTHL will lead to an equilibrium in Mumbai's real estate infrastructure market. Infrastructure projects bring benefits that are not likely to be comprehended immediately at the time of completion but with time, they do bring results," he added. Gagrani also maintained that issues such as urban planning, topography and health issues, which Mumbai is experiencing at the moment, is strikingly similar to what cities in the west like London, Manhattan and New York experienced during the 1800s. Meanwhile, city based architect and panelist P K Das pointed out the importance of increasing the existing green cover of Mumbai and highlighted how rampant construction works have led the maximum city to becoming a heat Island. "The fact that we are throwing all cushions in the air is a myth. In 1857, when India was fighting it's first war of Independence, London was building it's first Metro network. Today London's total length of Metro lines is 400km, while in Mumbai, we will be building 300km of Metro lines in just 10 years. These are all public transport network which will benefit all sections of society," Gagrani said.
