With bullet train, MMRDA feels new BKC can be built in Boisar

MUMBAI: The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority wants to expand the region’s jurisdiction all the way up to Boisar. “The bullet train has halts at Thane, Virar and Boisar, with its terminus at BKC. Both Thane and Virar are already developed. There is land available in Boisar which we can acquire to set up another BKC. This can be used to set up backup offices and staff quarters. Those working in BKC can travel by the bullet train. The entire distance can be covered in 15-20 minutes,” a source said.

Pankaj Kapoor, managing director, Liases Foras, a real estate research company, said there is a tendency to integrate larger and larger areas, but this leads to diffused densification and to make it economically viable becomes a huge challenge. He pointed out that Nayana, the new township of Cidco (Navi Mumbai’s planning authority), has been in the making for the last seven years. Navi Mumbai is yet to fully take off, while Thane is only now taking off as an economic centre.



“To make an area economically sustainable like Mumbai, you need at least 4,000-5,000 people per sq km. No shopkeeper will set up business unless he is confident of an assured clientele. Also, there is no more migration from rural to urban areas as jobs are being created closer to rural areas. Such planning is not economically workable; instead, government should concentrate on creating infrastructure for existing clusters,” he said.

Professor Sangita Kamdar of the School of Business Management, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies University, disagreed. Kamdar said India needs more planned cities for economic growth. “It’s a great idea. Transport forms the backbone of an economy and once transport comes, it automatically attracts private investment, which brings employment. Other infrastructure automatically follows. This is how China developed, and it’s the only way to remove poverty,” she said.

A former MMRDA commissioner on condition of anonymity said there has always been a demand to expand MMR. “With MMRDA comes lots of funds, so a lot of people want MMR to expand as it enables infrastructure development. But MMR is spread over 4,000 sq km, and there is a lot of scope for development within this area. The Virar-Alibaug multi-modal corridor along with the metros will be a big game-changer for the entire MMR, and we had planned six business centres along this corridor at places such as Bhiwandi, which today is difficult to reach. There is potential for business centres at Mira-Bhayander and Virar. Today, people residing here travel all the way to Mumbai for jobs,” said the former commissioner.