MMRDA eyes Gujarat land buy model for Virar-Alibaug link

With land acquisition becoming a major challenge for undertaking projects in the metropolis, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) plans to follow a model from the neighbouring Gujarat, where land owners are made partners in the developmental projects.

The MMRDA, which plans to develop a 126-km-long multi-modal corridor(MMC) running from Virar in the extreme northwest of the city to Alibaug on the southeastern periphery, is planning to adopt the Gujarat model of land acquisition by making land-owners partners in the project.

"This is a very ambitious project but the major hurdle that we see is land acquisition. We are conscious of the fact that land acquisition will not be an easy process so we will have to think of some innovative ways. We have proposed to the government to adopt a policy similar to that of Gujarat where land owners will be able to reap the benefits of the project," MMRDA commissioner Rahul Asthana said.