Port land to give city 1,000 acres more

The city could get another 1,000 acres of land, including a seafront, once the Mumbai Port Trust lands are opened up, according to a draft report by the land development committee (LDC). The report for the first time estimates how much space could be freed up.

The city could get another 1,000 acres of land, including a seafront, once the Mumbai Port Trust lands are opened up, according to a draft report by the land development committee (LDC). The report for the first time estimates how much space could be freed up.

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HT through its reports has highlighted the issue of freeing-up of port land. On July 17, HT reported how the liberated land across the eastern waterfront could give Mumbai a chance to reinvent itself. This was followed by a series of reports on what are the opportunities and hurdles the plan may encounter.

The LDC’s report makes clear how much of the total 1,800 acres the port occupies would be available. Of this, around 100 acres are available immediately, but in fragments. The rest, port sources said, will have to be freed up using various tools. The committee has said freeing up the 1,000 acres will not be very difficult.

According to sources, the committee was able to provide the figure, after considering scenarios such as scrapping existing tenancies, demolishing defunct godowns and shutting down port operations, among others. However, the draft report also makes clear the onus is on MbPT and the shipping ministry to take policy decisions to free up the land. “For instance, decisions on existing tenancies as well as on how to rehabilitate slums on port land will dictate how much land is freed up,” said a source from the committee.