MMRDA on ‘home ground’ to open salt pans for development

The development of salt pan lands in the city and Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) will support the Central government’s mission of ‘Housing for All by 2022’.

The development of salt pan lands in the city and Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) will support the Central government’s mission of ‘Housing for All by 2022’.

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According to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority’s (MMRDA) proposal issued last month, the consultant appointed to prepare the master plan for development of the land will have to determine the possibility of housing stock development to support the Centre’s initiative. Housing for All or the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana is a scheme to provide affordable houses to the urban poor. The Centre is looking at providing financial assistance to agencies from the states and union territories that implement the scheme. Mumbai has close to 5,379 acres of salt pan lands, but a major part is encroached upon. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) Development Plan 2034 looks at opening up 1,781 acres of salt pan lands, which are crucial to the city’s ecology, for housing.

The MMRDA’s proposal identified 40 plots, mainly in Trombay, Wadala and Bhandup, taking different government surveys into consideration. It looked at opening up the plots in two phases – first in Mumbai and then the metropolitan region. The consultant would be expected to prepare existing land use plans, a master plan and strategy for implementation and conduct feasibility studies.

The MMRDA’s regional report 2036 deemed that they safeguard the city against floods. A 2016 survey by the MMRDA revealed that only 25 acres or 0.5% of the 5,379 acres in the city can be developed.

However, senior officials from MMRDA said government regulations have been amended after the survey.

The Union ministry of environment and forests revised the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017, and excluded salt pans from wetlands. The Centre also revised the Coastal Regulation Zone rules in January 2019.

“We have to assess the amount of developable land after the new amendments,” a senior official from MMRDA confirmed, on condition of anonymity.

Debi Goenka, an environment activist from the Conservation Action Trust, said. “At a time when there are reports stating that Mumbai will submerge by 2050 because of rising sea levels, the MMRDA is considering reclamation for building affordable houses. How will these houses be affordable when the cost of development is so high?”

Chandrashekhar Dhage, a Mumbai-based architect, welcomed the move. “It is a good initiative in a city like Mumbai where the land is scarce. However, considering connectivity to these areas is also important,” he said.

Urban planners objected to the proposal stating that major plans in the city cannot be looked at in isolation.

Pankaj Joshi, executive director of the Urban Design Research Institute, said, “All authorities are following a piecemeal approach in planning. How will this plan relate to the master plan for Metros or the regional plan or the development plan for Mumbai? The MMRDA must carry out a comprehensive environment impact assessment.”

Lubina Rangwala, senior manager, urban development and resilience, World Resources Institute, said, “It is not a sensible solution to open up these lands as these natural reserves provide a lot to the city. There are smarter ways to create affordable houses within the current available housing stock.”

A response to a right to information query filed by Janhit Manch in 2018 had stated that no houses have been constructed under the Housing for All scheme.

Nitin Killawala, a Mumbai-based architect, said, “The situation is still the same. The government keeps making promises, but the ground reality hasn’t changed.”