The Times of India  24.08.2010

MUMBAI: Despite protests from political parties in the corporation, the MMRDA submitted a fresh proposal to the BMC on its plans to construct an underground car depot under the stables at Mahalaxmi racecourse. At a meeting with municipal commissioner Swadheen Kshatriya, MMRDA officials said that it wants 17 hectares of land for two years to complete the project. It would be handed to back to the BMC soon after completion.

At the meeting, the officials also pointed out that it would require BMC land at four to six places to construct substations for the Metro line. "Earlier, they had said they also wanted to construct offices on the surface but now that has been shelved. We have called a meeting between our legal department and the Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) to decide the fate of the proposal," said Kshatriya.

Municipal commissioner Swadheen Kshatriya, in a recent letter, asked the BMC's legal and estate departments to prepare grounds for RWITC's eviction from the property based on a three-month-old notice. The MMRDA had asked for land for the depot in the following two to three years. The spots were zeroed in on by MMRDA consultant M/s LBG and the state issued a resolution on June 15.

According to MMRDA officials, earlier, the plan was to have these substations on the main stations but that has now been altered. The BMC and MMRDA also agreed to jointly prepare the development plan (DP), which will be implemented in 2013, and MMRDA's concept plan. "We have agreed to prepare both the plans in tandem for a uniformity of development in BMC and MMRDA projects," said an official.