BMC has spent ₹540 crore, but is yet to get land for 166 projects in Mumbai

Information accessed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act revealed that the collectors’ offices — city and suburban — are yet to clear land acquisition proposals for 166 projects despite the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) paying Rs540 crore. The RTI was filed by activist Anil Galgali.

The civic body needs about 75.9 hectares of land. However, with the collectors yet to clear acquisition proposals, important projects for developing civic amenities such as schools, playgrounds, gardens, roads, markets and parking lots across the city and suburbs are stuck in a limbo.

Galgali has now written to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, seeking his intervention for immediate completion of these projects.

Initially, Galgali had sought information on two major road contracts in Kurla (L ward), pertaining to Lathia Rubber Road in Sakinaka that crosses the Mithi River and connects Mumbai Airport. The second was related to extension of Liyaquat Ali Road, which is likely to reduce travel time between Kurla station and Bandra-Kurla Complex by half.

Galgali said, “After accessing information for these two projects through RTI, I realised that it were the collectors’ offices that were causing the delay. They should be immediately instructed to complete the acquisition process on a war footing because the civic body has already paid Rs540 crore —half of the cost to begin acquisition process — as per the law.”

The RTI also revealed that most acquisition proposals — 21 — pending approval from the suburban collector were from Andheri (K-west ward).

A senior BMC official said, “We have been pursuing the matter with the collectors’ offices so that the plots reserved in the development plan (DP) 1991 can be acquired for the pending civic projects.”