Mumbai to get single planning authority headed by mayor: Aaditya Thackeray | Mumbai news

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government is holding deliberations to set up a single planning authority headed by an ‘empowered’ mayor for Mumbai, state tourism minister Aaditya Thackeray said on Thursday. Thackeray, who is also the guardian minister of Mumbai suburbs, said the proposed authority could be set up over the next one year.

The minister underlined that the implementation of projects will remain with the existing agencies such as the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).

Thackeray was speaking at an International Conference on Climate Crisis 2.0 – Mobilising Finance for Coastal Cities, jointly organised by Mumbai First, Government of Maharashtra, European Union and the Consulate of Netherlands at a Mumbai hotel.

Speaking at the conference, Thackeray said on Thursday, “Climate action is not only for 2040, or 2070, it is for today. One of the ways to move further for Mumbai, is to create a single planning authority. In Mumbai, where we have multiple planning agencies and 42 utilities, we are actively working towards having a single planning agency, and an empowered mayor to head it. That is very crucial, that such a body is headed by an elected representative, rather than a CEO. Hopefully this will happen within the year, as process and deliberation is going on.”

“Now that the state and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) are aligned, we have found it easier to meet timelines related to infrastructure projects,” Thackeray said, adding that the government has made it a point to have weekly meetings of all agencies working in Mumbai on Wednesday to coordinate and interact. This has brought down planning and coordination time from 6 to 7 months to 1.5 to 2 months.

Thackeray said, “To repair one footpath or one single road in Mumbai, there are 42 utilities, and coordination is required for each one, and 16 agencies have to be on board for planning and permissions. This needs to be managed more efficiently.”

In an oblique swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Thackeray said, “The political environment is polluted now, and we are debating whether what was done in history is right or wrong, and who was right or wrong. The real issues are unemployment, creating jobs, climate change and water. In Maharashtra, we have opened debate on these issues and active deliberations at the policy level are going on.”

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