To prevent 26/11-type terror attacks, the Maharashtra government has embarked on a novel project to rope in people living along the coast for community policing in a big way.
In an exclusive interview with The Hindu in his office here on Wednesday, the first Bharatiya Janata Party Chief Minister of the State, Devendra Fadnavis, said, “We are working closely with the Navy. The maritime agencies and the coastal police stations are working together. But unless we involve the local communities living on the coast in policing, coastal security would not improve. So we intend to rope in local fishermen into the community policing framework.”
He was speaking in the context of a mega transformation he has envisioned for Mumbai, and the concerns over security threats along the porous 114-km coastline of the city. He was handpicked for chief ministership by the BJP's top leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for his clean image and dynamism.
A law degree merit holder from Nagpur University who has also studied business and project management in Berlin, Mr. Fadnavis has the huge task of revamping the financial capital of India besides addressing the plight of the State's farming community. Maharashtra is one of the States which has seen a large number of farmers suicides in recent years.
In the aftermath of the 26/11 terror attacks, the Centre enhanced vigilance along the Mumbai coast. However, the blowing up of a Pakistani boat off the Porbandar coast on the night of December 31 has fuelled fresh concerns over Mumbai’s coastal security. Mr. Fadnavis has reviewed the situation and promised to improve vigilance. “We have planned more coastal police stations, but they need to be more empowered.” He underlined the need for better coastal security to make Mumbai a safer and more attractive destination for foreign investment.
Handpicked for Davos
The Chief Minister will participate in the World Economic Forum in Davos from January 20 as part of the Indian delegation. “I have been nominated by the Prime Minister. I intend to showcase Mumbai and Maharashtra as an attractive destination for investment. We have identified 60 to 70 private entrepreneurs, and we will conduct one-on-one meetings with them during the summit,” he said.
Since he took charge in the last week of October, he has rolled out several plans to enhance ease of doing business and to create the ecosystem necessary for boosting manufacturing in line with the Prime Minister’s “Make in India” campaign.
Ease of Business
“Our focus is on enhancing capacity in manufacturing. Maharashtra has more than 25 per cent manufacturing, and we want to boost it further by providing ease of business. We have already reduced the number of permissions required for setting up manufacturing from 76 to 25 and fast-tracked the creation of a single-window clearance system on an IT platform,” he said.
Knowing that the lack of affordable commercial space was an area of concern for firms interested in setting up offices in Mumbai, Mr. Fadnavis has also devised a plan to create more commercial space to woo the service industry. “The rentals of commercial spaces are high, and that’s why no service industry is opting for Mumbai. Therefore, we want to create more commercial spaces and business hubs like Bandra-Kurla Complex where space is available for affordable rents,” he said.
Mr. Fadnavis' vision for Mumbai’s transformation also includes a comprehensive plan to decongest the Maximum City by improving transportation and creating new satellite cities on the fringes to reduce the heavy burden on infrastructure.
Zipping through city in 30 minutes
He has embarked on a grand plan to make life easier for Mumbaikars whose lives are caught up in never-ending train and road journeys. The two-hour commute from the northern end to the southern tip of the city is set to come down to 30 minutes with an ambitious > 35-km coastal road project .
“Over 60 per cent of Mumbai traffic plies on the Western Express Highway, and leads to congestion. The coastal road will be integrated with the Bandra Worli Sea Link. We also plan to implement a BRTS (Bus Rapid Transit System) so that it can become a mass transportation project. Mumbaikars will be able to complete this commute within 25-30 minutes,” he said.
The Chief Minister said that he has been diligently pursuing the clearances with the Centre. During his recent visit to New Delhi, the Environment and Forests Minister Prakash Javadekar assured him of speedy clearances for the project, Mr. Fadnavis said.
Mr. Fadnavis believes that the work on the project, estimated to cost Rs. 10,000 crore, could commence in a few months.
Fuelling growth
While the coastal road will run through the western coast of Mumbai, Mr. Fadnavis also wants to swiftly complete the much-delayed Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link (MTHL). It is a road project linking the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Navi Mumbai to Mumbai across the eastern coast. “After I became the Chief Minister, we have also managed to get all the clearances for the Navi Mumbai International Airport, and we intend to make it operational by 2019,” he said.
An artistic impression of the proposed Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link (MTHL).
Former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan had managed to get swift > environmental clearances in 2010 soon after he took over, but the new airport project could not take off over land acquisition issues with project-affected farmers demanding a steeper price under the new provisions brought on by the UPA government.
New satellite cities
Mr. Fadnavis’ grand vision for the transformation of Mumbai also includes building new smart and self-sufficient cities in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) that comprises of the satellite suburbs of Thane and Navi Mumbai, to lighten the burden on the infrastructure of the financial capital.
“We have identified a new city near the Navi Mumbai airport with an area larger than Mumbai. The 600 sq. km satellite city will be developed by City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) — a Navi Mumbai housing utility — and will have the capacity for a population of about 20 lakh people. Such new cities, which will have all the ingredients of a smart city, will help stem the influx into Mumbai and its infrastructure,” said Mr. Fadnavis.
Logistic park
The new city would be integrated with a large > logistics hub in Bhiwandi , a power loom town on Mumbai’s fringe known for its communal sensitivity, and a string of warehouses used by manufacturers to store their products and distribute them.
“Bhiwandi presently has over 4,000 illegal godowns and warehouses where the industry stores its logistics. The godowns would be regularised to boost the industry. All logistics come into Mumbai, and then gets distributed from here. The new city and the logistics park would cover an area of 2,200 acres,” said Mr. Fadnavis.
Man on a mission
>From RSS poster boy to Maharashtra’s top postThe rise of the former mayor from Nagpur has been nothing short of dramatic. |
>'Would bring sustainable development within a year'Speaking on ‘Vision Maharashtra’ during his tour to the district, Mr. Fadnavis said his government’s priority is to ensure speedy and sustainable development of the State. |
>Fadnavis emerges undisputed leader in MaharashtraHe took oath as the Chief Minister amid resentment among senior BJP leaders in Maharashtra. But by the end of the first Assembly session, Devendra Fadnavis has clearly emerged as the dominant leader, both inside the party and in the government. |
>'I owe my values to RSS'The choice of the party for the big job was evident when Modi credited Fadnavis as being the ‘ideal MLA’ and a national asset. |
>Vajpayee is his political idolThough his father was his personal idol, Mr. Fadnavis’ political idol was none other than the former BJP Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. |
