Thane to have BKC-like central business district
31 Jan 2015
The Maharashtra government has decided to set up a central business district (CBD) in Thane on the lines of the plush Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai. The decision was taken at a meeting headed by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday.
The new business district, to be located in Kalve, in Thane will help develop the hinterlands of Thane district, relieving Mumbai of its increasing congestion.
Guardian minister of Thane Eknath Shinde said elected representatives of Thane have demanded sanctioning of one more business district in the MMR region in order to undertake various development projects on priority basis.
He said, Mumbai faces heavy population growth and basic amenities were under extreme pressure, which makes further development difficult. Also, he said, geographical conditions make further expansion impossible in Mumbai.
The new business centre, to be set up on a 72-acre land at Kalwa-Kharigaon, will help decentralise the population and also help generate employment, Shinde said.
Meanwhile, to bolster infrastructure facilities in the MMR, the Maharashtra government had in November last year approved two more metro lines - Dahisar-Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd (DCBM) and Wadala-Ghatkopar-Thane-Kasarvadavali (WGTK) - involving investment of Rs44,702 crore
The DCBM metro corridor is estimated to cost Rs25,605 crore and WGTK line Rs19,097 crore.
MMRDA said 50 per cent of funds would be raised from international finance agencies. The central government and state government / MMRDA are likely to provide 20 per cent and 30 per cent of the fund requirement by way of equity and debt.
However, the proposed Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project is under cloud after the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority expressed inability to part with a 10-hectare plot in suburban Mumbai.
The state government is looking at alternatives and is scouting for new land in Mumbai or its suburbs to save the prestigious project.
The Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project is part of an ambitious plan of the Prime Minister of connecting major metros and upcoming urban centres with nine rail corridors with semi-high speed (150 to 200 km/h) and high speed trains (300 km/h).
