Can Mumbai outshine leading and globally-acclaimed cities?

There is no doubt that India is one of the most potential superpowers in the global arena and the country is making fast progress in almost all sectors. Now there is a question. Is it ever possible for Mumbai, India’s financial capital, to challenge leading cities of the world? The question is not trivial in any way since politicians have made this promise time and again. Nevertheless they have failed completely and Mumbai is still far behind. However there can be a change now. Reason? Never consider that the government has got Aladdin’s magic lamp but the property owners operating in the city have decided to finish this desirable task.

How? It has been learnt that more than 2,700 property owners, belonging to the Property Owners Association (POA), have agreed to restore almost 10,000 cessed buildings they possess in Mumbai. What is more they are confident that the organized effort can overhaul the city and can even surpass Shanghai, the largest city of China; located in the east on the Pacific; one of the largest ports in the world.

Speaking on this B R Bhattad, vice-cum-executive president of POA stated, “Property owners will develop nearly 10,000 buildings. Owners of another 7,000 buildings (who are non-POA members) are also aligning with us. We will not depend on builders anymore. We will develop the city into a world-class one.” It has been found that the majority of the buildings will have 20-30 storeys, whereas around 30 per cent will have 45-50 storeys. It is to be noted that POA has already empanelled architects and contractors whom the owners can choose for redeveloping their buildings.

“The property owners will allocate flats to the tenants and also build extra flats that will be sold,” said Bhattad. With this advance, the property owners expect that builders who are staring at their decrepit properties will move away.