The Indian Express                       26.03.2013

5 corporates show interest in beautifying Mithi promenade

As part of their corporate social responsibility, at least five major
corporate houses have evinced interest in beautifying the Mithi river
promenade by developing gardens on the 1.5-km stretch alongside
Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC).

Companies such as Reliance Industries, Standard Chartered and the
Keystone Group have submitted proposals to Mumbai Metropolitan Region
Development Authority (MMRDA), the special planning authority for BKC,
to develop gardens along the banks of Mithi.

Godrej and the Jindal group have also expressed interest in
sprucing up the promenade, but have asked for time to prepare and submit
a concrete proposal.

“Since it is part of a corporate social responsibility
initiative, we are most likely to give them two or three days more to
submit their proposals. We will set up a committee which will scrutinise
the proposals and act on them in the next one month,” said an MMRDA
official.

“Once that is done, we will give the companies six months to
execute the work. The onus of maintenance of the gardens will also be on
the companies for a specific period,” he added.

In January, MMRDA had invited proposals from private parties and
non-governmental organisations to embellish the Mithi river promenade.

About six km of Mithi river from Mahim Causeway to CST bridge
falls under MMRDA’s jurisdiction. The authority has beautified a small
portion of this stretch from the beginning of BKC up to E block of the
complex. Besides, a considerable portion of the remaining stretch is
covered with mangroves, leaving about 1.5 km where there is scope for
landscaping.

To ensure that the beautified riverside looks uniform, MMRDA first
engaged a design consultant that came up with a standard drawing for the
promenade. The design is similar to the work done by MMRDA.

The total area to be beautified — about 10 hectares — has been
divided into 10 sections, which will be handed over to either the same
or separate corporate bodies for development.

“Reliance Infrastructure has submitted a proposal for all
sections, while Standard Chartered and Keystone have sent proposals to
develop two sections each. Godrej has also expressed willingness to
develop all sectors,” the official said.