Tremendous pressure on land, civic amenities: Chandrasekhar

The Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority's (MMRDA's) additional metropolitan commissioner and project director of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP), T Chandrasekhar, is obsessed with changing the face of Mumbai city.

"The state government brief to us was to prepare a master-plan for the financial capital of India that would take into account the social as well a physical transformations needed to make the city comparable with the best in south east Asia," Chandrasekhar tells Business Standard. Excerpts from an interview.

What has been the thrust of the MMRDA as far as transforming Mumbai into a world class city is concerned?

The vision plan for Mumbai city targets reviving the metropolis and transforming it into a world-class city.

The components of the master plan, which we were asked to flesh out, includes the physical and social infrastructure of the city, while also arresting (curbing) the sliding economic growth rate and employment opportunities witnessed here. Our plan is to ensure that Mumbai retains its status as the best destination for investments.

It is true that other cities such as Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat are making massive strides in development today. Mumbai does not possess the earlier edge that made it a clear leader.

However, it is also true that the city does not look at these other cities as its competitors. Today we are focusing are energies to make the city of comparable class, if not better, than Singapore, Dubai, Shangai and Hong Kong.

We are developing infrastructure to match these international cities and emerge as the regional (south east Asian) financial centre in the world.

What is the emphasis upon to achieve this?

An improved quality of life in Mumbai is one of our primary goals. Today, the city contributes Rs 40,000 crore annually to the Union government in taxes. Not even 2 per cent of this amount is ploughed back for development activities in Mumbai.

More than 38 per cent of investments into India is registered in Mumbai, which contributes 5 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country.

What we need to do is improve the quality of life for Mumbai's taxpayers, who are not satisfied with the amenities available to them despite their contributions to the state and national exchequer.

What are the other constraints of the city?

Population is an area of serious concern. It (population) must be understood in the context of it being a resource as well as a constraint also.

In Mumbai, there is a tremendous pressure on land and civic amenities. The last four decades have witnessed an explosion in population.

Nearly 55 per cent of the city's population lives in slums, there is economic recession, unavailable infrastructure (especially roads), increased competition from other cities as well as a shift in employment patterns to name some constraints.

The population has boomed to a whopping 1.21 crore in Mumbai city. While in 1961, the island city had a population of 28 lakh people, today it stands at 33 lakh.

However, if you look at the growth pattern of the city's suburban districts the problem is acute. In 1961, if there was a 14 lakh suburban population, it stands at 90 lakh today.

In 1961 there were 61,000 vehicles in Mumbai. Today, 10.5 lakh ply on the roads. In 1981, there were 7,770 factories employing 6.5 lakh workers. In 1961, 16.86 lakh people found employment.

Today, there are 45.28 lakh employed. In 1976, there were 28 lakh people in Mumbai who lived in slums. This figure has increased today to 65 lakh.

Take the economic growth rate. Mumbai registers a growth rate of 2.4 per cent compared with the state's 4 per cent, compared with India's 5.6 per cent and compared with Shangai's 8.2 per cent growth rate.