Jai Maharashtra! Lets Rebuild Mantralaya

Is this the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning? Now even Maharashtra's politicians do not want to be left out of the realty grab, and have come up with a scheme to extract their pound of flesh.

The public works department (PWD) has devised a plan to redevelop the State's assembly house, Mantralaya, located at Nariman Point, in Mumbai. This is the same area where the NCPA Building is located, in which Citibank sold an apartment last year for Rs 34 crore, which worked out to Rs 97,842 per sq ft last year.

So, while farmers commit suicide, rice and wheat cost twice as much, steel and cement double up in price, infrastructure trudges along, garbage lies everywhere, and people defecate along the tracks, the public works department will spend Rs 1000 crore of taxpayers money, to unnecessarily redevelop Mantralaya.

This is how it will work: The PWD will offer a triangular plot near Mantralaya to a developer, which would demolish the ministerial bungalows located here, and in its place develop 6 new towers of 31 stories each. In return for this, the builder will redevelop Mantralaya.

PWD is careful to emphasize that no change would be made to the basic structure of Mantralaya, which is a landmark, like the Sydney Opera House. An extra 100,000 sq ft created, which includes an extra floor for the CM and the deputy CM.

So, now, who will be the lucky builder for this dream project? And will the Maharashtra government be passing off the profits from this venture to the taxpayers of Mumbai?

The one other similar incident I had heard about was when Nero played the fiddle while Rome burned.

Read the TOI story here

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