Week before PM Modi’s visit, Centre gives go-ahead for transfer of salt-pan land to BMC for pumping station project in limbo for 4 yrs

The Union ministry’s move comes a week before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Mumbai during which he is expected to carry out the ground-breaking ceremony of several civic projects ahead of the upcoming civic elections.

“The market value of 6.176 acres of salt-land, proposed for transfer for BMC has been assessed at Rs 118 crores. As you (BMC) have given the undertaking to pay the market value of the land, as determined by this department, you are requested to furnish your consent to pay the above-mentioned market value of the land, so that the proposal can be moved to the cabinet for final approval,” said the letter, signed by Gaurav Tripathi, section officer of the salt section, which falls under the Union Ministry of Commerce.

P Velrasu, additional municipal commissioner (Projects), confirmed the development and said the BMC was ready to pay the money and take over the land.

“We are ready to pay Rs 118 crore in exchange for the land parcel, after that once the principal approval for transfer of land is received, we will issue the work order,” Velrasu told Express Friday.

In a bid to abate flooding in the low-lying areas of the eastern suburbs and south-central Mumbai, the BMC had proposed the construction of a pumping station at Mahul. Velrasu said this pumping station is of utmost importance and would play a key role in tackling waterlogging and flood-like situations during monsoon.

The tenders for this project were floated in 2019 and a contractor was also finalised back then. However, owing to the unavailability of the land parcel, the civic body did not authorise the final work order.

During the Maha-Vikas Aghadi (MVA) rule, the BMC, through the state government, approached the Union ministry for initiating the transfer of the land between 2019 and 2021.

In 2020, then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray during a video conference with PM Modi also brought up this issue and urged to expedite the process of land transfer.

Since no response came from the Union government, the BMC in 2021 decided to set up this pumping station on a private land parcel under the state government’s land-swapping scheme.

However, this attempt also hit a roadblock since maps published by the National Coastal Zone Management Authority (NCZMA) showed that the private land falls under the coastal zonal regulation zone and no construction can take place in it.

Later, after the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government came into power in June 2022, the BMC again approached the Centre through the state government for handing over the salt-pan land parcel.

The basic cost of this project has been pegged at Rs 420 crore and it will take the BMC tentatively three years to complete the work.

Civic officials said once this pumping station comes up, the low-lying areas in eastern suburbs like Chembur, Chunabhatti and King’s Circle will be relieved from waterlogging during monsoon and it will also solve the problem of trains in the harbour line getting stuck during the rains.