Mumbai plans Rs 60,000 cr infusion in infrastructure

Funds proposed to be spent on 31 projects.

Maharashtra finally has a Rs 60,000-crore (over $13 billion) plan ready for transforming Mumbai into the next Shanghai, with the money earmarked for infrastructure upgrade alone.

The funds are proposed to be spent on 31 projects, and the state wants the central government and centrally sponsored schemes to pitch in with Rs 43,000 crore for 20 schemes. On its part, the state has offered to invest Rs 7,000 crore in the remaining 11 projects.

Last week, the state government made a presentation to the Planning Commission on the infrastructure aspect of the Mumbai transformation project.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's dream of transforming Mumbai into a Shanghai will not just take this kind of money but also lots of time. Some of the key projects, including the Mumbai metro rail transport system, will be complete only by 2021, a water supply project by 2012, and a facelift for Dharavi by March 2008.

The six projects for which the state has sought 100 per cent central funding will need Rs 9,000 crore. These include the Mumbai Urban Transport Project costing Rs 3,700 crore, and the Brimstowad project for a storm-water drainage system costing Rs 1,800 crore.

The state intends to fully fund the setting up of a convention and exhibition centre at the Bandra-Kurla complex costing Rs 1,000 crore, rehabilitation of pavement dwellers at a cost of Rs 500 crore, and beautification of Marine Drive at a cost of Rs 100 crore.

To strengthen the North-South corridors and East-West connectivity in the metropolis, nearly 17 high-speed junctions with signal-free road corridors, having dedicated bus lanes, will be developed under the urban transport project, and funded through the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.

The project is estimated to cost Rs 2,647 crore, and is expected to be complete by June 2007. The Metro Rail Transport System project costing Rs 19,500 crore will also be taken up under central schemes.

Apart from financial help, the state is seeking assistance on duty cuts for project inputs and full tax exemption under the Income Tax Act for the next 25 years.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had said in 2004: "When we talk of a resurgent Asia, people think of the great changes that have come about in Shanghai. But we can transform Mumbai in the next five years in such a manner that people forget about Shanghai."