The conspiracy behind privatisation of Mumbai Airport

Today morning I had to receive my uncle from the airport. And once again the same airport privatization issue started haunting in my mind. So, I decided to start a blog of mine where I can share my view. So, here is my first post.

In 2006, the Chratrapati Shivaji International Airport  was handed over to Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd (MIAL), a consortium of GVK Industries Limited (GVK), Airports Company South Africa (ACSA), and Airport Authority of India.

Since I stay very close to the airport, I had a clear idea about the entire terrain owned by the airport and hence I always had feeling that the company is more interested in making profits by commercially exploitation of that land after evacuating the slum dwellers staying there for decades. We founded ‘Airport Authority Zopadpatti Sangharsh Samiti’, a non-political organization to fight against the injustice to these slumdwellers.

MMRDA recently published an ‘interim’ development plan exclusively for the Mumbai airport area and invited objections and suggestion through a public hearing. The panel that conducted the hearing on this vital issue comprised comparatively junior officials. Sadly, the public response was also very poor. Very few people recorded their objections and at the same time media presence was pathetic. Even our organisation was not allowed to bring more than two representatives to the hearing. This clearly shows that this public hearing was just as a formality.

Why favor Mumbai Airport?
The existing development plan (DP) that forms the guidelines for development of this metropolitan already includes the airport area admeasuring about 802.03 Ha. This is the first time that a separate DP has been prepared for a part of this city.

‘Interim’ is not just incomplete but it also hides few things. Basically, the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act 1966 (MRTP Act) states that an interim development plan can only be prepared in very essential conditions and that too with specific directives from the state government. In our case, neither there is any justification for ‘very essential condition’ nor does it mention any government order in this regard.

Article 32 (3) clarifies that the interim DP covers very few matters. As per Article 22, the DP covers 13 matters ranging from ‘a’ to ‘m’, and interim DP will cover only a, b, c as per Article 32 (3).

Both the development plans (1967 & 1992) prepared for this city so far considered issues like slum encroachments, hillocks and reclamations. I don’t think that MMRDA officials lack in efficiency as compared to those who prepared these two plans. So, this is not about their skills in preparing the plan but about their ability to hide their intention.

The contradiction about the claim of land constraint
Let’s compare the existing DP of Mumbai with the proposed interim DP for this area.

• Aeronautical purpose – 491.68 Ha in the new plan which is increased merely by 2.3% from 473.13 Ha
• Other basic infrastructure – Reduced to 113.96 from 120.86 Ha reserved in existing plan
• Non-aeronautical (commercial) purpose – increased from 27.41 Ha to hopping 165.93 Ha
• Besides this, 144.42 Ha land has been ambiguously reserved for aeronautical/non-aeronautical purpose. The authority justifies that the utilization of this encroached (slums) land will be decided in a phased manner. This explanation is the biggest mockery. If this development would be in phases, it should have been reserved for ‘aeronautical / no development zone’. I strongly feel that this is an intentional ambiguity so that the land can later be used for non-aeronautical purpose using the interim DP.
• The existing plan has 85 Ha land reserved for public facilities like garden, playground, public housing, dhobighat, etc. The proposed plan has removed this reservation and shows 214 Ha land under ‘proposed land use’ and not as reserved. These are two different things. Land ‘reserved’ for such facilities has to be developed and handed over to the public through the Municipal Corporation. So, the grass next to the runway can also be shown as a part of 154 Ha land proposed as green and open space in the interim plan.

In normal course, if the government intends to remove any reservation, it is bound to pass an order under Article 37 (1) of MRTP Act, 1966 and then get it approved from the Improvement Committee and subsequently the house of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai. In that case, the whole deal would have become transparent and would have certainly invited strong resistance from various entities. In short, this separate DP could be the best way to abolish the reservation on the 85 Ha of land.

And if this plan comes into existence, even Mumbai Port Trust or islands like Madh and Gorai would also demand for a separate plan on the same lines. This is certainly an alarming situation and we should take a serious note of this before things go beyond control.

Why can't they rehabilitate slums?

I always scared of construction of hotels, commercial hub, malls on the airport land by evacuating the slum dwellers staying there for decades. I am not against the development but I cannot assimilate the enormous land acquisition under the pretext of development. And I don’t think that supporting these slum dwellers would annoy taxpayers leaving in buildings. They all regularly interact with at least 10 to 15 people like milk supplier, housemaid, watchman or driver who live in these slums. So, people are certainly concerned about these people.

It would be appropriate and ethical to use the public housing reservation in the existing plan for the slum rehabilitation but it is being deliberately overlooked.

The 85 Ha reservation has been eliminated on the grounds of either security or being inappropriate in the current situation. Just as the reservations that were found unsuitable in 1992 were rather changed than removed in the plan, the proposed plan could have changed the ‘inappropriate’ reservation for dhobighat to public housing and used it for rehabilitation of the project-affected people as well as for affordable housing projects.

While rehabilitating slums on the airport land during BJP-lead NDA regime, MHADA provided land, Airport Authority of India incurred all expenses and the construction was carried out under Shivshahi rehabilitation project. Ironically, this government doesn’t wish to provide anything; instead they intend to give benefits to the corporate houses.

If we don’t take serious steps to prevent this separate DP, it will lead to a crucial situation. We had anticipated this problem long back as we have been working with the people on the issue of slum rehabilitation for the past few years. Unfortunately, people do not seem to be unaware of the consequences. Perhaps I talk too much on this issue as the airport can be seen from my house. But I am a very small person and hence alone cannot be heard. Hence I felt the need to write on this grave issue so that the facts can reach out to as many people.

I thank you for taking your valuable time to read this and solicit your comments and views in this regard.