NITI Aayog pledges master plan to double Mumbai's GDP to dollar 300bn by 2030

CM Eknath Shinde, deputy chief ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar with NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam on Tuesday. Pic/Twitter

In a meeting with the NITI Aayog on Tuesday, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputies were promised a master plan to double the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Mumbai and its metropolitan area to 300 billion dollars by 2030. The NITI Aayog will prepare the proposed master plan in four months.

The meeting comprised Shinde, deputy chief ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam and other members of the Centre's premier policy think tank. In a presentation to the state, Subrahmanyam stated that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region's (MMR) GDP is 140 billion dollars - higher than Portugal, Colombia, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Israel and Chile. MMR's population is expected to be 2.70 crore by 2030 and the region's growth in the last five years has been 5 to 5.5 per cent. To increase the GDP, the MMR will need an investment of 150 billion dollars in the next seven years.

CM Eknath Shinde and deputy chief ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar at the CMO's war room conclave on Tuesday

By the end of this decade, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Punjab will have 50 per cent of their populations living in urban areas. "In view of the massive urbanisation, the important cities will need to have economic strength," Subrahmanyam said in the meeting attended by senior bureaucrats as well.

The NITI Aayog has suggested that the first step should be the creation of a group of bureaucrats to coordinate with it while it creates master plans for Surat, Vishakhapatnam, Varanasi and Mumbai. The group is to be led by a senior bureaucrat who will be the nodal officer. A preliminary presentation of the proposed master plan will be held in December.

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Financial development is planned through sectoral growth, said Subrahmanyam. The planners are expected to focus on creating jobs, basic infrastructure, just use of land and finance policy. Agencies such as Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) will be reviewed to drive growth. The NITI Aayog will also explore the possibility of state funding and concession for basic infrastructure projects. Sectors such as real estate, hospitality, manufacturing, tourism, financial services, education, public health and transport, and logistics will see drastic changes.

CM wants port trust land

CM Shinde suggested on Tuesday that the Mumbai Port Trust-owned land off the eastern seafront can be used for the city's financial growth. Taking a leaf out of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari's plan of converting the land into a commercial and tourism hub, Shinde said the Centre can consider the proposal (closed after Gadkari was shifted from the ministry concerned) again.

Tackling traffic

Later on Tuesday, Shinde and his deputies reviewed the progress of big-ticket infra and transport projects in Mumbai. A proposal to use the twin tunnel concept to end Mumbai's traffic woes was discussed at the Chief Minister's Office's war room conclave on Tuesday and the civic corporation was asked to conduct a survey. Shinde also suggested using grade separators to ease traffic. In this kind of separation, vehicles move at different heights at junctions, thus avoiding crossings. Preliminary talks were held about connecting the western and eastern expressway and ongoing and upcoming Metro projects were discussed. The city's civic chief was asked to remove encroachment on roads and pavements of South Mumbai.