Mumbai: MMRDA wakes up to market potential of prime Wadala land

Heres another example of the myopic view of the cityrsquos town planning authority In the 1990s the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority MMRDA had allotted nearly 19 hectares of land on sublease to the Bombay Goods Transport Association BGTA and MAHASANGH Maharashtra Rajya Truck Tempo Tanker and Bus Vahatuk Mahasangh which are transportersrsquo associationsThe Wadala Truck Terminus is currently occupying prime real estate PicShadab KhanNow MMRDA wants around 9 hectares back from the associations The reason for this rethink is because when the plot was allotted nearly two decades ago Wadala despite being in central Mumbai was not a prime destination but has now witnessed extensive development making the MMRDA want to cash inProjects like the Monorail and Eastern Freeway along with the upcoming Metro routes have made this area a business hub with huge potential The main aim behind granting the land to transport associations was to decongest south Mumbai and make it pollutionfree and the MMRDA had given the land to the transport associations for a mere Rs 3000 per square meterNow according to sources in the MMRDA the authority is eyeing almost half of the total 18 hectares 9 hectares and going by current market rates the area would have a market potential of R12001400 croreMMRDA speakldquoThe area of the plot on which they transporters should have constructed has not been finalised yet as some of the members have also gone to court The area occupied by BGTAMAHASANGH at Wadala is around 1819 hectares and the present FSI Floor Space Index is 4 but the FSI consumed by them is 08 or 09At present the Project Management Consultant appointed by us to prepare a plan will calculate all the things which will also include the FSI that has been consumed We will also check how many of the buildings have been completed how many are under construction etc and only after we take all these into account will we come to know the exact FSI that has been consumedrdquo said Anil Wankhede deputy metropolitan commissioner Lands amp Estate MMRDA Sources indicated that MMRDA also has plans to move the truck terminus out of WadalaPrime landAccording to Prakkash Rohira a real estate consultant the current rate in Wadala for land is nearly R15000 per sq ft MMRDA is eyeing a market potential of around Rs 1400 crore from this 9hectare plot and this does not take into account the higher FSI of 4 thatrsquos available in this areaMMRDA is the designated planning authority of the Wadala area and it controls 109 hectares of land in all in this locality Out of this total figure 2728 hectares is designated saltpan land MMRDA has 82 hectares of land remainingIt has already allotted almost half of this land to the BGTAMahasang for the Wadala Truck Terminus to the Lodha Group for construction of a residential township and the Monorail depot has come up in the balance area Now looking at the rising property rates in the area MMRDA wants to cash in by either leasing or selling out the plotsMeetings meetingsOn April 22 2015 a joint meeting between BGTA MAHASANG MMRDA and the consultant appointed for preparation of the master plan for the Wadala Notified Area was convened under the chairmanship of the Additional Metropolitan CommissionerThe main aim of the meeting was to work out the possibilities of relocating the BGTA and MAHASANGH buildings into a single plot for optimum utilisation of land On Wednesday a meeting took place between BGTAMAHASANG members and Metropolitan Commissioner UPS Madan at the MMRDA headquarters at BKC and details are awaited on the outcomeAfter the April meeting MMRDA had given a couple of options for relocation to BGTA and MAHASANG Either the associations will be provided a single plot on which they will be permitted to construct the equivalent of the builtup area which they currently occupy or the associations will be provided constructed premises of equivalent existing builtup area on a single plot by MMRDA