JOIN USA meeting to finalise relocation of offices of political parties and 26 government departments from the Mantralaya-Vidhan Bhavan area to give way for a Mumbai Metro station concluded smoothly, with organisations here on Saturday agreeing to move out of their existing premises.
The parties, including the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Shiv Sena, agreed to the plan in the meeting with Additional Chief Secretary Sumit Mallick, convened to discuss the vexed issue.
“The positive response from the political parties has been heartening,” said Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) Managing Director Ashwini Bhide. “I am sure the entire construction of the Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ Metro-3 corridor will now be completed with the intended speed and precision,” she said.
Representatives of 14 government departments and six political parties were present at the meeting.
The MMRCL had earlier suggested MTNL, BSNL, Mumbai Port Trust and World Trade Centre as possible alternatives for the organisations to relocate. After examining the suggested alternatives and their convenience, representatives of the political parties have agreed to relocate their offices.
Since their offices are often visited by the common man, representatives of the political parties felt that their offices should remain in the Mantralaya area. The meeting was attended by the Congress, NCP, Republican Party of India, Samajwadi Party, Shiv Sena and the Shetkari Kamgar Party.