<p><br />Almost 100 years after the proposal to create Back Bay Reclamation was mooted, the Maharashtra Government is once again exploring the possibility of creating an artificial island near the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) for various infrastructure projects.<br /><br /></p>.<p>High land prices in the area around Navi Mumbai, a suburb of the nation’s financial capital, have forced the state government to look towards the vast expanse of the Arabian Sea for expanding some development projects.<br /><br />“A Dutch company is being consulted in connection with reclamation of land in areas around JNPT,” Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan told Deccan Herald.<br />He said possibility of reclamation has not been explored since the Back Bay area was reclaimed from the sea to create Nariman Point, one of the most sought after business districts in Mumbai.<br /><br />Chavan also apprised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about the proposal on Wednesday during a discussion on infrastructure projects for Maharashtra.<br /><br />First phase<br /><br />Maharashtra government had offered a compensation package of Rs 19.5 crore per hectare of land which was to be acquired for the proposed Navi Mumbai Airport, the first phase of which is targeted to be made operational by 2017.<br /><br />The Netherlands Airport Consultants had proposed to the Maharashtra government to consider the alternative of developing the Navi Mumbai airport on an artificial island. It had cited examples of Hong Kong and Singapore airports which were built on reclaimed land.<br /><br />With decks being cleared for the Navi Mumbai airport, the Maharashtra government is exploring the feasibility of creating an artificial island for other development projects.<br />The proposal to reclaim land by filling up the shallow back waters of a bay in South Bombay was mooted in 1917. The original proposal was to reclaim 1,145 acres of land but the project was beset with delays and later abandoned due to corruption charges. <br /><br />However, by 1929, about 440 acres land was reclaimed. Another attempt for reclaiming land was made during the 1970 but had to be abandoned due to protests by fisher folk who got a stay on the project from courts.<br /><br />The first Reclamation began in 1860 with the intention to reclaim the entire Back Bay but had to be abandoned within five years as the company set up for the purpose went bankrupt. Whatever little land was reclaimed was used to build the Churchgate railway station.<br /><br /></p>
<p><br />Almost 100 years after the proposal to create Back Bay Reclamation was mooted, the Maharashtra Government is once again exploring the possibility of creating an artificial island near the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) for various infrastructure projects.<br /><br /></p>.<p>High land prices in the area around Navi Mumbai, a suburb of the nation’s financial capital, have forced the state government to look towards the vast expanse of the Arabian Sea for expanding some development projects.<br /><br />“A Dutch company is being consulted in connection with reclamation of land in areas around JNPT,” Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan told Deccan Herald.<br />He said possibility of reclamation has not been explored since the Back Bay area was reclaimed from the sea to create Nariman Point, one of the most sought after business districts in Mumbai.<br /><br />Chavan also apprised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about the proposal on Wednesday during a discussion on infrastructure projects for Maharashtra.<br /><br />First phase<br /><br />Maharashtra government had offered a compensation package of Rs 19.5 crore per hectare of land which was to be acquired for the proposed Navi Mumbai Airport, the first phase of which is targeted to be made operational by 2017.<br /><br />The Netherlands Airport Consultants had proposed to the Maharashtra government to consider the alternative of developing the Navi Mumbai airport on an artificial island. It had cited examples of Hong Kong and Singapore airports which were built on reclaimed land.<br /><br />With decks being cleared for the Navi Mumbai airport, the Maharashtra government is exploring the feasibility of creating an artificial island for other development projects.<br />The proposal to reclaim land by filling up the shallow back waters of a bay in South Bombay was mooted in 1917. The original proposal was to reclaim 1,145 acres of land but the project was beset with delays and later abandoned due to corruption charges. <br /><br />However, by 1929, about 440 acres land was reclaimed. Another attempt for reclaiming land was made during the 1970 but had to be abandoned due to protests by fisher folk who got a stay on the project from courts.<br /><br />The first Reclamation began in 1860 with the intention to reclaim the entire Back Bay but had to be abandoned within five years as the company set up for the purpose went bankrupt. Whatever little land was reclaimed was used to build the Churchgate railway station.<br /><br /></p>
