MUMBAI: The BMC has proposed leasing 15 acres of reclaimed land at the Mulund dumping ground to the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP) for five years. This will establish a casting yard, a precast element manufacturing facility, and a ready-mix concrete (RMC) plant, generating an expected rental income of around Rs 103.47 crore during the lease term.
The plan, cleared by civic administration, will be discussed at the Improvement Committee meeting scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
It involves leasing 60,703 sq m of land to Navbharat Mega Developers Pvt Ltd, which has been appointed by the state government to oversee the Dharavi Redevelopment Project. According to the proposal, this land is part of the Mulund landfill undergoing biomining. While some areas have already been reclaimed, the proposed 15 acres contain an estimated 2.5-3 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste that needs to be removed, along with site remediation, soil stabilization, and leveling before it can be utilized.
The BMC evaluated various options for determining the lease rental and ultimately decided on a rate already approved by its bridges department for casting yards related to infrastructure projects. The established rent is set at Rs 252 per sq m per month, with a 6% annual increase. This totals to approximately Rs 103.47 crore over five years.
However, Navbharat Mega Developers will incur a remediation cost of Rs 20.04 crore for site preparation, which will be deducted from the lease rental upon verification by the chief engineer (Solid Waste Management). After this adjustment, the BMC’s net rental income will amount to Rs 83.44 crore, with the total payable amount, including 18% GST, reaching about Rs 100 crore.
Under the proposed payment structure, the developer is required to pay six months’ rent plus GST upfront after taking control of the land. The remediation cost will then be balanced against rental payments over the following 14 months. After that, the full rent, with annual increases, will apply for the remainder of the lease.
Per the proposal, the land will be provided “as is where is” and can solely be used for the approved purposes of constructing a casting yard, a precast element manufacturing unit, and an RMC plant. “Any extension of the five-year lease will require new approval from the relevant authorities,” stated an official.
The lease imposes the responsibility for securing all necessary statutory and environmental approvals—including from the State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA), and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), as applicable—on the developer.
The developer is also obligated to process all legacy waste in compliance with the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, adhere to environmental monitoring standards, and provide site infrastructure such as CCTV surveillance, access control systems, and safety provisions.
