NTC to seek nod for sale of 14 more mill lands

MILL LAND JUDGEMENT IMPACT

Close on the heels of the Supreme Court judgement clearing the mill land sales, National Textile Corporation (NTC) is planning to approach the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) for permission to sell the 14 other mill lands, slated for sale in the city.

A senior NTC official said, "As soon as we get a certified copy of the judgement, we will approach the civic authorities for clearances for all the 14 mill lands that are slated for sale." NTC now owns 18 mills in the city, after selling off five mills and reserving two for green spaces as per the city development control rules.

The other four NTC mills in the city "" Finlay, Tata, India United No 5 and Poddar Mills "" are slated for a revamp. NTC is also ready with the revamp plans for these mills. While Finlay and Poddar are set to be modernised in the first phase, Tata and India United No 5 will be modernised in the second phase. The other mill to be modernised in Maharashtra is the Barshi Mill at Barshi.

Encouraged by the booming real estate prices, the company had submitted integrated development plans for all the 14 mills to the city civic body. The plans were kept in abeyance by the MCGM, pending the final court ruling on the previous sales.

The fresh clearances are likely to bring into the market a further 136 acres with a development potential estimated at Rs 5,000 crore. A part of the proceeds from the sale of mill lands in Mumbai will be used for the revamp plan.

The earlier sales had raised Rs 2,020.75 crore and were also to be used for funding NTC's ambitious modernisation plans.

The constructional developments on private mill lands, which were suspended in the wake of the public interest litigation petition filed by the Bombay Environmental Action Group and the subsequent Bombay High Court judgement, are also all set to be resumed.

Rajeev Piramal, vice-chairman, Morarjee Realty, said, "We are resuming work on all three of our ongoing projects "" the tech park at Kurla, and the residential developments at Parel and Sewri. We will also approach the corporation with our plans for Dawn Mills in a couple of weeks."

Gagan Banga of India Bulls, which bought Jupiter and Elphinstone mills, said the two mill lands would be developed as commercial properties and had already filed their plans with the city authorities. "We hope to complete these projects in two years' time," he said.

Vijay Vancheshwar of DLF Properties, which bought the 16-acre Mumbai Mills for a record Rs 702 crore, said, "We will proceed aggressively with our plans to develop the Mumbai Mills property as a premium family entertainment and retail centre. Besides, we are also keen on exploring other possibilities of further investments in Mumbai."

He indicated that the group was also considering buying more mill lands as and when they came up for sale.