Citizen’s petition against Maha govt land monetisation garners strong response

The change.org petition by Sucheta Dalal, founder trustee of Moneylife Foundation, follows a vehement statement about such monetisation signed by over 128 prominent citizens

MUMBAI: A citizen’s petition opposing the monetisation of public land has registered a strong response, with over 6,000 signatures opposing the transfer of prime government lands to private entities. The change.org petition by Sucheta Dalal, founder trustee of Moneylife Foundation, follows a vehement statement about such monetisation signed by over 128 prominent citizens, including former police commissioner Julio Ribeiro, former chief of naval staff Vishnu Bhagwat, retired Bombay High Court judge Gautam Patel and organisations such as Urban Design Research Institute, Vanashakti and Amchi Mumbai Amchi BEST.

Mumbai, India. Jan 13, 2025: The contractual drivers of a private operator hired by the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport undertaking went on a flash strike at Pratiksha Nagar Depot in Mumbai. Mumbai, India. Jan 13, 2025. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo) (Hindustan Times)

As reported earlier by HT, the eminent citizens’ letter raised concerns about the massive monetisation of public land, almost 18% of Mumbai’s total area, purportedly to facilitate upgradation. This newspaper had also reported how these 6021.50 acres of Mumbai’s total habitable land of 34,000 acres had been unlocked by the central and state governments.

A white paper brought out by a group of NGOs, activists, lawyers and academics, coordinated by Moneylife Foundation, has now demanded that the Maharashtra government suspend all proposed monetisation, and public lands be utilised only for genuine public purposes like housing, civic amenities and open spaces. Dalal told HT that while the public response to the issue was huge, the government was yet to respond. “We may have to file under the Right to Information to get more data on the government lands and may even consider filing a public interest petition if the government fails to respond,” she said.

“For example, (at) the Bandra depot site… commercial floor space commands prices of ₹25,000 to ₹30,000 per square foot,” stated the paper. “Even modest vertical redevelopment could yield seven to eight lakh square feet of commercial area, valued at ₹1,500 to ₹2,000 crore. Dindoshi and Deonar have similar potential. Together, just three depots could generate inflows of ₹6,000 to ₹7,000 crore—enough to finance the procurement of 3,000 to 3,500 electric buses, covering almost a third of BEST’s electrification target.”

The white paper argued that if this did not happen, BEST would remain dependent on municipal subsidies and continue to lose passengers. “If, however, TOD and MMI are implemented as proposed, BEST can achieve a fleet of 12,500 electric buses by 2035, expand depot capacity to house them, stabilise ridership at 4 million passengers daily and generate 25-30% of revenues from non-fare sources by the same year,” stated the paper.

Hussain Indorewala, co-convenor of Amchi Mumbai Amchi BEST pointed out that the government had already given away the Kurla, Oshiwara, Mahim, Dahisar, Marol-Maroshi and Yari Road depots in 2010 for commercial development and had sanctioned the development of other depots like Dindoshi, Deonar and Bandra. The Dharavi depot is being handed over for the rehabilitation of Dharavi residents,” he said. “Once the BEST depot land is handed over, it is lost forever. BEST is yet to recover ₹320 crore from the private developers who were earlier given the plots.”