Mumbai: BMC gives 14 plots for Metro 3 on leave-and license basis

Seven public gardens and three pay-and-park areas are among the 14 plots the BMC will temporarily hand over to the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) for construction of the fully underground Metro 3 line.

Seven public gardens and three pay-and-park areas are among the 14 plots the civic body will temporarily hand over to the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) for construction of the fully underground Metro 3 line.

The plots will be given to MMRCL on a leave-and-license basis for 11 months at Re 1 per plot. They will be used to construct underground stations and their entry and exit points.

In November last year, MMRCL, the firm handling the Colaba-Bandra-Seepz metro line, asked the BMC for 16 plots in order to avoid hurdles of obtaining clearances separately. While it agreed to giving 14 plots, the civic body has not handed over two plots — one owned by Nair Hospital that will be used for the hospital’s expansion, and the other, the Nehru Science Centre, as it belongs to the state government.The proposal for the transfer was cleared by the civic improvements committee on Thursday.

Some of these plots include the Colaba Woods garden in Cuffe Parade, Bhatia garden in Fort, Rotary garden in Churchgate and a playground behind the Siddhivinayak temple in Dadar.

MMRCL will have to take permissions from the tree authority if it needs to hack trees. If the construction comes in the way of a heritage structure, the firm will have to get a no-objection certificate from the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee.

Congress corporator Mohsin Haider, who is also a member of the improvements committee, has objected to the proposal. “This agreement is unacceptable as the plots are not being handed over at market rates. Section 92 (c) of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, under which they will be handed over, does not provide for handing out plots at concessional rates,” he said.