MMRDA plans to bring down walls of private, commercial buildings for seamless BKC

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) plans to make the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai a seamless and pedestrian-friendly commercial business district by removing compound walls and promoting walkability.

Mumbai

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The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority’s (MMRDA) latest move to decongest Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) seems improbable even as it attempts to persuade everyone that it has taken a leaf out Canary Wharf in London, Roppongi Hills in Tokyo and the Marina Bay in Singapore.

The body plans to make the commercial business district seamless and pedestrian friendly – to achieve that it has decided not to permit compound walls across the hub which not only differentiate building premises but also make them secure. It will also request owners of commercial and residential buildings to tear down the existing boundary walls.

Some of the prominent business centres here are: Jio Convention Centre and Jio World Drive, ICICI Towers, Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB), Trident Hotel, MCA Club, and educational institutions such as Dhirubhai Ambani International School and American School of Bombay.

MMRDA commissioner Sanjay Mukherjee confirmed this and told HT: “We will ask everybody in BKC to relook the need for compound walls. New projects will not be granted permissions, going forward.” MMRDA is the special planning authority for developing BKC, spread across 370 hectares, and is one of the most sought-after commercial business districts in the country with average rentals ranging between ₹250-300 per square feet.

According to sources, this plan will be placed before the MMRDA authority meeting, chaired by chief minister Eknath Shinde.

Sources in MMRDA said the idea behind this plan is to improve walkability. “People can easily cross from one building or premises to the other. The security should be at the entrances of these buildings. Each building will have to chalk out its parking plan but pedestrian movement should not be hampered. BKC was developed on a ‘walk to work’ concept,” said an official.

According to Prashant Thakur, regional director and head (research) ANAROCK Group, pointed out that Canary Wharf, Roppongi Hills and Marina Bay may be related examples but are not completely ‘wall-less’.

“BKC becoming wall-less has upsides and potential downsides. On the one hand, well-designed open spaces would deliver modern and vibrant optics, while improved connectivity can create a more attractive and collaborative business district. Removing existing walls could enhance the perception of better overall security but not all businesses may necessarily see it that way, and in fact assume the contrary,” said Thakur, emphasising that all of them have security measures and building-specific perimeters. He added removing compound walls are also buffers to noise pollution from traffic, which will be compromised. “The success of this bold idea will depend on immaculate planning that factors in mitigating security and noise pollution concerns,” he said.

MMRDA officials also said seamlessness of this hub will ensure that auto rickshaws and cars do not park at a particular location and block traffic movement. Authorities will ask all companies, real estate investment trusts owning properties in BKC and patrons to revisit the idea of having compound walls.

A recent study by a real estate consulting firm revealed BKC comprises over 11 million square feet of property of which 55-60% are commercial businesses. There are several large companies, schools, hospitals, banks, financial institutions, foreign consulates and up-market restaurants here.

When HT reached out to the US Consulate, which has a big setup in the heart of BKC, the spokesperson for consul general, Greg Pardo, directed us back to MMRDA stating “it was their new policy and future plan”.

MMRDA plans to also redesign and relook at the way footpaths are structured to improve the kerbs, turnings and width wherever needed. Plans are afoot to ease last mile connectivity inside BKC. Sources said MMRDA is looking at providing free parking space inside the Jio World Center and has asked traffic police to identify and declare ‘no parking zones’ in parts of BKC. In future it also plans to link the Metro rail and Bullet train stations at BKC with commercial buildings.

Mehul N Shah, vice president, BDB, finds MMRDA’s proposal unfeasible. “BKC does not have a large number of pedestrians. The width of footpaths should be reduced to widen the roads. Cycle tracks are not required in this congested hub,” said Shah.

Shah underscored that BKC is the financial headquarter and most buildings need access to enter. “BDB is a high security area and breaking compound walls is a serious security risk,” he said.

Shah pointed out while entering BKC from the Bandra side, all the buildings are aligned on the right side of the road, hence “more U-turns with longer signalling intervals should be permitted”. He said illegal parking on the road needs to be stopped and autos should be prevented from blocking roads. “MMRDA and traffic police should meet the BKC Association to understand the ground reality,” said Shah.

(With inputs by Satish Nandgaonkar)