MSRDC plans smart city corridor along Mumbai-Pune E-way

The state road development corporation will soon build a corridor of smart cities along the Mumbai-Pune Expressway by tapping its existing land bank and acquiring more, with the chief minister having given an in-principle nod to appoint the corporation as a special planning agency for certain areas.

The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has a land bank of about 500 hectare spread across 24 plots along the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. Of the 24 plots, three are in the Panvel taluka, eight in Khalapur, and 13 in the Maval taluka. A vast majority of these plots remain unused.

A senior MSRDC official, who did not wish to be named, said, “We will concentrate on developing the stretch beyond Lonavala after the ghat section. A majority of the land prior to the ghat section falls in an eco-sensitive zone. We plan to acquire land to have a bank of about 1,000-1,500 hectares to develop about two to three smart cities. The plan is still in its nascent stages and a detailed project report will take time.”

For land acquisition, the MSRDC would use the model applied by the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) for the Navi Mumbai International Airport or its NAINA smart city project where a portion of the developed land could be given back to original owners, he added.

By following this type of a land acquisition model, the official said, about 22.5 per cent of the developed land could be handed back to the owners and another 25 per cent may be used for development of infrastructure services. Roughly 30 per cent can be made available for commercial exploitation, while the rest will be kept aside for open spaces.

MSRDC officials briefly discussed the proposal of building smart cities along the 95-km Mumbai-Pune Expressway with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday. The chief minister, in-principle, agreed to appoint MSRDC as the special planning authority for certain areas to help the cash-strapped corporation optimally utilise its land bank and boost its dwindling finances.

As per a presentation that MSRDC officials made to Fadnavis on Thursday, designating MSRDC as a special planning authority along major transport corridors and ring roads will empower the corporation in many ways. It will enable the MSRDC to award Transfer of Development Rights against the construction of roads and for acquisition of land.

Being a special planning authority will also allow the MSRDC to a Floor-Space Index (FSI) of 0.5 to 1 as additional area for high density development against a premium. FSI is the ratio of the area construction to the plot size. Besides, a special planning authority can also undertake town planning schemes and build growth centres.

Maharashtra to clear way for new industrial cities run by public firms

The new industrial cities and regions proposed under the ambitious Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor in Maharashtra will be set up as exclusive enclaves, out of the ambit of local authorities such as the existing municipal corporations, zilla parishads, gram panchayats as well as elections. A special purpose vehicle (SPV) will be created to develop each city.

The state government will amend the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act, 1966 to grant special planning authority status to these SPVs set up by the Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor trust (DMIC) and the state’s nodal agency Maharashtra industrial development corporation (MIDC). This will ensure the industrial cities are set up with no hindrance from local authorities or existing laws.

To free up the areas from the control of the existing gram panchayat, municipality or corporation limits, the state will issue a notification under Article 243 Q of the Indian Constitution.

In phase I, two new industrial areas have been proposed – Dighi maritime city in Raigad and Shendre-Bidkin manufacturing hub in Aurangabad. The project spans 10 districts in the state, including Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, Aurangabad, Nasik, and covers 18% of the state, with 26% of the state’s population falling under its area of influence.

“This is to facilitate the creation of trunk infrastructure in the proposed industrial cities. The land will be acquired by MIDC and handed over to the SPV and the state government will provide adequate police cadre to maintain law and order. But otherwise, these areas will be controlled in perpetuity by the SPVs, headed by a government official,’’ said a senior industries department official.

The industries department government resolution issued this week has tasked various departments such as the rural development and urban development revenue department to start amending laws to grant special status to the SPVs. It also stated all development in these regions will be exempt from stamp duty, property tax etc. “The SPVs will be created to develop each industrial city or area and will have all the powers to decide land use, electricity distribution, right of way etc,” stated the government order, dated January 19.

The state cabinet had given its go-ahead to the state support agreement and the shareholding agreement between the DMIC Trust and the MIDC last year. Both the agreements lay down this procedure to plan new industrial cities. A joint committee between the SPV and the state government will be formed to iron out coordination issues. DMIC, through the SPV, will opt for transparent competitive bidding to develop the second-stage infrastructure of these cities.

The trunk infrastructure will be funded by the Centre, while the state government’s equity will be in the form of land acquired for the project.

It is learnt chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is keen to ensure both the cities are set up by the 2019 deadline set by the Centre

Nashik likely to be included in phase II of DMIC

NASHIK: Nashik might not have made it in the first phase of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DIMC) project, but it can take solace in the fact that the district may after all be included in the second phase of the ambitious infrastructure programme which is likely to begin in 2017-18. 

Nashik was not included in the first phase of the DMIC project after the water resources department of the state expressed its inability to reserve water in the dams required for the industries that would be set up under the programme. 

Speaking to TOI, a senior official from the MIDC said, "The industries department of the state is already in talks with the water resources department to sort out the water reservation issue for developing industrial townships in Nashik under the DMIC project. Talks are being held at the principal secretaries' level. Nashik is to be included in the second phase of the DMIC, which is expected to begin by the financial year 2017-18." 

"We have already proposed reservation for 3,500 hectares for land acquisition for the industries on the stretch between Sinnar and Igatpuri. This land is to be made available for the DMIC project." 

The grand DMIC project, which had been pending for a long time and has finally received approval for the first phase, had hit major roadblock in Nashik after the local water resources department expressed its inability to provide water to the industries that would be set up here. This was disclosed by MIDC CEO Bhushan Gagrani during his visit to Nashik. 

In an interactive session for the office-bearers of the industrial associations at the Nashik Engineering Cluster in the Ambad industrial estate on January 16, Gagrani said, "It is the DMIC Trust and the central government which take the final call on the project. The non-availability of water is a major hurdle for the DMIC project. The water resources department has expressed its inability to reserve water in the dams at large for the DMIC project for Nashik. We need water if we have to implement the project here." 

In Phase I, the DMIC project — rated as the largest infra project — will see development of seven new industrial cities namely the Dadri-Noida-Ghaziabad investment region in Uttar Pradesh, Manesar-Bawal investment region in Haryana, Khushkhera-Bhiwadi-Neemrana investment region in Rajasthan, Pithampur-Dhar-Mhow investment region in Madhya Pradesh, Ahmedabad-Dholera investment region in Gujarat and Shendra-Bidkin industrial park city and the Dighi Port industrial area, both in Maharashtra. 

The DMIC in Maharashtra covers Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, Nashik, Aurangabad, Ahmednagar, Pune, Dhule and Nandurbar districts and influences 18% of the total area of the state. 

DMIC project at a glance 

Nashik was not included in phase I of the project after the water resources department of the state expressed inability to reserve water in the dams required for the industries that would be set up under the programme 

Phase II is expected to begin by financial year 2017-18; Nashik will be a part of it 

The project in Maharashtra covers Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, Nashik, Aurangabad, Ahmednagar, Pune, Dhule and Nandurbar districts and influences 18% of the total area of the state 

Phase I will see development of seven new industrial cities — Dadri-Noida-Ghaziabad investment region in Uttar Pradesh, Manesar-Bawal in Haryana, Khushkhera-Bhiwadi-Neemrana in Rajasthan, Pithampur-Dhar-Mhow in Madhya Pradesh, Ahmedabad-Dholera in Gujarat and Shendra-Bidkin industrial park city and the Dighi Port industrial area, both in Maharashtra.

Gujarat government ready with new smart city development policy

Ahmedabad, DeshGujarat

To gain maximum out of Prime Minister Narendra Modi led union Government’s major thrust on the development of smart cities across the country, Gujarat Government has readied a ‘Smart City Development Policy’ which is under the final approval of the Chief Minister Anandiben Patel and expected to get through before the state budget in next few days.

The new policy draft prepared by the state Urban Development & Urban Housing development department with the help of a leading management consultancy firm is focused on development of new green field smart cities as well as development of existing cities(brown field) as the smart cities.

The new policy has adopted lot of concept from the Government of India’s proposed smart cities guidelines and also adopted several concepts prevalent in other parts of the world and India.

Under the new policy major thrust will be given on planned development of eco-friendly cities. Huge financial and other incentives like additional FSI(Floor Space Index) will be offered to the projects coming up in the area. For infrastructure projects under the PPP(Public Private Partnership) mode special incentives will be given.

Gujarat government is also planning to develop five new cities in anticipation of a major new scheme for the development new smart cities.

Under the DMIC(Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor), Japan and Government of Gujarat are jointly planning eco-smart cities at GIFT city(Gandhinagar), Dholera, Sanand, Changodar and Dahej also.

सिडको नयना क्षेत्रातील बांधकामांवर हातोडा चालविणार

रायगड जिल्ह्य़ातील नयना क्षेत्रात दिवसेंदिवस वाढणाऱ्या अनधिकृत बांधकामांवर सिडकोने आता लक्ष केंद्रीत केले आहे. १६ बांधकामांची यादी सध्या तयार करण्यात आली असून आठवडय़ाला दोन बांधकामे तोडण्याचे निश्चित करण्यात आले आहे. त्याची ही कारवाई लवकरच सुरू होणार आहे. नयना क्षेत्रातील या बांधकामांवर कारवाई करण्यासाठी सिडकोने खासकरून नवीन शहर प्रशासक सुनील केंद्रेकर यांची नियुक्ती केली आहे.

राज्य शासनाने नियोजन प्राधिकरण म्हणून नियुक्त केलेल्या पेण, पनवेल, खोपोली या तालुक्यातील २७० नयना क्षेत्रात (नवी मुंबई विमानतळ प्रभावित क्षेत्र) सध्या अनधिकृत बांधकामांचा सुळसुळाट झाला आहे. सिडकोने आरक्षण टाकण्यापूर्वी ग्रामस्थांनी आपल्या गावाशेजारीच्या मोकळ्या जागेत टोलेजंग इमारती उभारण्यास सुरुवात केली आहे. अशा ३०२ बांधकामांना सिडकोने यापूर्वी नोटिसा दिलेल्या आहेत. त्याची ग्रामस्थांनी फारशी दखल घेतलेली नाही. त्यात राज्य सरकाराने ग्रामपंचायत हद्दीतील अनधिकृत बांधकामांना दंड आकारून कायम करण्याचा निर्णय घेतला आहे. त्यामुळे ही बांधकामे दामदुपटीने वाढली आहेत.

सिडकोने पनवेल तालुक्यातील ८ बांधकामांवर आतापर्यंत कारवाई केलेली आहे, पण तरीही बांधकामांची संख्या वाढत आहे. त्यामुळे १६ बांधकामांची यादी तयार करण्यात आली असून आठवडय़ाला दोन बांधकामांवर हातोडा चालविण्याचे ठरविण्यात आले आहे. त्याची तयारी करण्यात आली असून पुढील आठवडय़ात ही कारवाई होण्याची शक्यता आहे.नयना क्षेत्रात दिवसेंदिवस वाढणाऱ्या अनधिकृत बांधकामांवर हातोडा चालविण्यासाठी सिडकोचे व्यवस्थापकीय संचालक संजय भाटिया यांनी खासकरून नवीन शहरांची प्रशासक म्हणून जबाबदारी असलेल्या दबंग सनदी अधिकारी सुनील केंद्रेकर यांची नियुक्ती केली आहे. त्यासाठी पत्रकार परिषद घेऊन त्यांच्या नावाची घोषणा आणि ते काय करणार वगैरे याची यादी जाहीर करण्यात आली होती. पण केंद्रेकरांचा हा बार अगदीच फुसका निघाला असून सिडकोने आतापर्यंत म्हणावी अशी कामगिरी केलेली नाही. आता दिवसाढवळ्या उभ्या राहणाऱ्या काही इमारतींची पाडकाम केले जाणार आहे, पण ते केव्हा याबाबत सिडकोने भूमिका स्पष्ट केलेली नाही. केवळ नवी मुंबई विमानतळाच्या उभारणीमागे लागलेल्या सिडकोचे वाढत्या अनधिकृत बांधकामांवर पूर्णपणे दुर्लक्ष आहे. नयना क्षेत्रातील या बांधकामाबरोबरच नवी मुंबईतील २९ गावात तर लॅण्डमाफियांनी अक्षरश: हैदोस घातला असून सरकारने या गावांना वाढीव एफएसआय जाहीर करण्याअगोदर त्यांनी ८ ते ९ एफएसआयची बांधकामे केलेली आहेत. यात सिडको, पालिका, आणि पोलीस यंत्रणा आपलं चांगभलं करून घेत आहे. नवी मुंबई पालिकेच्या निवडणूक काळात तर या बांधकामांना ऊत येणार आहे, पण त्याचे सोयरसुतक सिडकोला नाही

MMRDA has decided to transform all upcoming commercial hubs into smart cities

To woo more investors and get premium pricing for land, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has decided to transform all upcoming commercial hubs into smart cities.

A smart city will have public Wi-Fi, integrated CCTV camera network, smart parking system, solar lighting apps to find utilities, among other things. 

For this, the MMRDA has identified 

Panvel, 

Kalyan, 

Alibaug-Pen, 

Bhiwandi and 

Vasai-Virar, 

which will be connected to Navi Mumbai International airport through the proposed Virar-Alibaug multimodal corridor (VAMC).

“To strengthen the brand value of commercial hubs, we need to add as many components as possible. We want the hubs to be equipped with advanced facilities before they are made operational,” said UPS Madan, MMRDA commissioner.

Last month, a think tank from South Korea came up with a proposal to create these centres along the VAMC.

The MMRDA has already undertaken the Smart BKC project, where the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) is set to be developed as a smart city by next year.

The smart city project is being implemented on build-operate- transfer (BOT) mode. The MMRDA issued tenders for the BKC project in October, but the authority will have to start afresh as the state government has suggested a few changes.

“The information technology department wants the number of people working on the project to be reduced. So we are going to invite fresh tenders,” Madan said.

While the Wadala Truck Terminus (WTT) area is also set to be developed as a smart city, the MMRDA is not keen about going ahead with the project in the Oshiwara district centre, as it involves acquisition of a large chunk of private land.

There could, however, be one more commercial hub in Kanjurmarg.

Mumbai Urban Transport Project phase 3 ready to roll after Centre's nod

The Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation, staring at an empty order-book after some of its big projects entered the business-end of things this year, have got a new lease of life. Last week, railway minister Suresh Prabhu announced that after his meeting with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis phase 3 of the Mumbai UrbanTransport Project (MUTP) was now on. According to officials, the projects hold a lot of promise for the harried Mumbaikar. dna gives a lowdown on some of the major works:

The Virar-Vasai-Diva-Panvel line:
Estimated to cost Rs 6,120 crores as per 2011 prices, the work to create a whole new 70-odd kilometre suburban line would now cost anything between Rs 8,000-10,000 crore. "It has the potential to create a new urban set-up in the Bhiwandi, Kharbao, Kalamboli, Diva, Panvel area. If work begins now, it could be a reality over the next decade," said a senior railway official.
The financing of the project has to be sorted out though. While the railways wants the state government to get the local civic bodies along the rail route to levy taxes, the state wants it to be done the traditional way. However, with chartered accountant-banker Suresh Prabhu as railway minister, city-based officials believe a solution on the finance methodology might be in sight.

Panvel-Karjat line:
It could be a game-changer for the people living in the vicinity of Karjat and more importantly for the railways in terms of money saved. The route, currently a single line used by trains like the Pune-Ernakulam and Pune-Bhusawal Express, many of them halting at Chikhale just to replenish their diesel stocks, can cut the distance between CST and Karjat from 100 kilometres to just 77 kilometres.
The line currently starts from Panvel, moves to Chikhale, then to Mohape, onwards to Chowk and then Karjat. It is used by trains like the Pune-Ernakulam and Pune-Bhusawal Express, many of them halting at Chikhale just to replenish their diesel stocks. The challenges of making it suburban-ready includes tough terrain and the construction of tunnels.
According to officials, it is now or never for the project. While a Comprehensive Transport Study commissioned by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) in 2011 put the cost of the project at Rs638 crore, the state government in July 2014 pegged it at Rs 1,473 crore, a rise of 130% in the last one decade.

Airoli-Kalwa connector:
The Airoli-Kalwa connector, an elevated rail line about 4km in length, will allow more people to reach Navi Mumbai by by-passing the already-congested Thane station. "Currently, people have to come to Thane and then take the Thane-Vashi route — also called transharbour — to get to Navi Mumbai. The longer option is to go to Kurla and then opt for the conventional harbour line all the way to Panvel," said the official.
The upside for the project is that it does not require much land acquisition as the elevated bridge will run on railway land parcel available as part of the Kalwa car shed. Moreover, officials said the cost of the project would be in the range of Rs 300-400 crore, something that the cash-strapped railways could manage.