BMC to explore turning dismantled octroi nakas into transportation hubs

The idea is to ensure that additional traffic of the trucks, tempos, private buses, taxi and private cabs can be housed at these hubs so that there is less congestion on the city’s roads

Four years after Mumbai’s five octroi nakas were dismantled, the BMC is exploring ways to make commercial gains by turning these spaces into transportation hubs. The civic body will float tenders to hire consultants by next month to make blueprints that will throw more light on the project’s viability. Officials said discussions on the utilisation and monetisation of the space where the octroi nakas once stood have been going on for over two and half years.

The idea is to ensure that additional traffic of the trucks, tempos, private buses, taxi and private cabs can be housed at these hubs so that there is less congestion on the city’s roads. The corporation will also look into the possibility of renting a portion of these places for recreation facilities including restaurants and hotels.

Before the implementation of the Goods and Service Tax, Mumbai octroi checkpoints at Mulund on Eastern Express Highway and LBS Road, Dahisar on Western Express Highway, Vashi and Airoli. However, the consultants will be appointed only for the Dahisar and Vashi locations on a pilot basis. “Only after considering the feasibility and studying the blueprints will we think about moving ahead with other octroi nakas,” said an official.

The civic body has taken into account various requests coming from other government agencies asking for space from them to put the octroi nakas to use. To ensure that these nakas do not go out of BMC’s control, officials said, the municipal body has decided that a transportation hub could be a viable solution, which can also help it make some commercial gains.

An official not willing to be named said, “We will be floating tenders to appoint consultants by next month to prepare a complete report on the use of octroi nakas as transportation hub. After the blueprints are ready we will see if the commercial gains can be recovered from it or not. We have not yet decided what the project will cost us and how the revenue model should be as the consultants would draft those in detail.”

5
No. of octroi checkpoints that existed in the city

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