Mumbai's Future Unveiled - Slum Rehabilitation, Navi Mumbai Airport, and Transit Development Take Center Stage

Pioneering Slum Rehabilitation in Dharavi

During the Maharashtra Infrastructure Conclave, senior IAS officers delved into transformative city projects, emphasizing the evolving urban landscape. SVR Srinivas, CEO of the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP), spoke about the ambitious plans to revitalize Dharavi, describing it as the "brownest of the brownfield projects."

Despite its 20-year-long bid process—the longest in history—the project is now in a critical phase, with surveys actively underway. Srinivas aims to complete the initial stages by the end of the current financial year. He also assured that the redevelopment on salt pan land will be categorized as developable, avoiding any impact on ecologically sensitive areas.

Navi Mumbai International Airport: A Global Gateway

Vijay Singhal, CIDCO’s Chief, highlighted the rapid progress of the Navi Mumbai International Airport, which is set to accommodate 90 million passengers annually. He shared the exciting news that on October 11, defence aircraft will land at the airport, an event to be witnessed by the Chief of the Air Force. The airport will feature world-class infrastructure, including four interconnected terminals and an Automatic Passenger Movement system, allowing seamless transfers between terminals without the need for re-entry.

Transit-Oriented Development: Reshaping Mumbai’s Urban Fabric

Abhijit Bangar, Additional Municipal Commissioner of BMC, discussed Mumbai’s Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) initiatives. The TOD plan includes designating a 500-metre radius around each metro station as a transit-related development area, allowing for higher floor space index (FSI) for residential development. This will enable greater population density and better connectivity, with realigned roads and wider footpaths to facilitate pedestrian access to metro stations.

The Future of Infrastructure: Hard vs. Soft Development

Ashish Kumar Chauhan, MD and CEO of the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE), provided insight into the future of infrastructure. He differentiated between hard infrastructure (ports, airports, electricity, roads, public transport) and soft infrastructure (telecommunications and digital services), predicting that soft infrastructure will be the key driver of job creation and wealth generation in the next 50 years.