BKC: Maharashtra CM promises quick help as corporates rip into govt apathy

Mumbai

With its glitzy glass and steel facades, the sprawling Bandra Kurla Complex is a defining landmark for the metropolis, but lack of support infrastructure for the nation’s costliest business district came in for sharp criticism today from corporates head honchos.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has promised all help and substantial changes within a year, after the heads of State Bank of India and Standard Chartered Bank, two of the biggest names to have a presence in the area, went public with their ire.

“At BKC, we have developed a lot of buildings, but there is no infrastructure. There is no infrastructure in terms of entering the place or exiting the place. We don’t get the basics rights,” Standard Chartered Bank India, chief executive, Sunil Kaushal said, addressing a summit here today on the city’s next phase of development.

The British lender moved its country head office out of the downtown Fort area to the upcoming BKC, joining an increasing league of institutions which are abandoning older business districts like Fort area and Nariman Point for BKC.

Kaushal also acknowledged the same, saying the bank has invested a lot in the new facility and also stressed on the need to increase the living standards of the people.

He also feared that occupants will be forced to migrate out of the complex if corrective steps are not initiated soon.

State Bank Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya, who also has a multi-storied building in BKC, which serves as the regional head office, also pointed to similar problems on the infrastructure front.

“Let’s solve BKC. It has major infrastructure issues,” she said, adding, this should serve as a top priority before the government initiates steps to transform this as a global financial centre. .

Union minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha also complained about the poor infrastructure, reminiscing about his travels to the place daily when he was serving as private equity fund manager, before plunging into active politics.

“I know exactly about the traffic jams in BKC because till a few months back, that is where I used to go,” he rued.

Developed primarily on damp land after diverting the course of the Mithi river by the state government controlled MMRDA, BKC is a 370-hectare complex and hosts the biggest names including the head office of the country’s largest private sector lender ICICI Bank, the largest bourse NSE, the US Consulate, the British Deputy High Commission, Nabard etc.

Sandwiched between the Kurla Station on the Central railway line and Bandra on the Western line, the complex does not have a metro rail connectivity yet and office goers have to depend on other means of transport to reach workplaces.

Many of the storied institutions are forced to run bus services to these two stations as a result of this. Traffic congestion at Bandra and Kurla only add to the woes.

In spite of these problems, the complex retains its spot as the most expensive office space in the country. In March 2008, Jet Airways bought a 3,44,000 sqmt commercial plot for Rs 826 crore in the area for its global headquarters.

After the public criticism of the infrastructure at BKC, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis assured all help and promised that a major chunk of the worries will be solved in the next one year by undertaking two projects.

First of the projects will be the BKC-Chunabhatti decongestion plan, work on which will start in a few days and on the western side, a series of bridges will be built near Kala Nagar for smoother movement.

“In less than a year’s time, we will be able to achieve substantial progress in creating facilities which would totally make the movement in and out of BKC seamless,” he promised.

Union minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha also complained about the poor infrastructure, reminiscing about his travels to the place daily when he was serving as private equity fund manager, before plunging into active politics.

“I know exactly about the traffic jams in BKC because till a few months back, that is where I used to go,” he rued.

Developed primarily on damp land after diverting the course of the Mithi river by the state government controlled MMRDA, BKC is a 370-hectare complex and hosts the biggest names including the head office of the country’s largest private sector lender ICICI Bank, the largest bourse NSE, the US Consulate, the British Deputy High Commission, Nabard etc.

Sandwiched between the Kurla Station on the Central railway line and Bandra on the Western line, the complex does not have a metro rail connectivity yet and office goers have to depend on other means of transport to reach workplaces.

Many of the storied institutions are forced to run bus services to these two stations as a result of this. Traffic congestion at Bandra and Kurla only add to the woes.

In spite of these problems, the complex retains its spot as the most expensive office space in the country. In March 2008, Jet Airways bought a 3,44,000 sqmt commercial plot for Rs 826 crore in the area for its global headquarters.

After the public criticism of the infrastructure at BKC, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis assured all help and promised that a major chunk of the worries will be solved in the next one year by undertaking two projects.

First of the projects will be the BKC-Chunabhatti decongestion plan, work on which will start in a few days and on the western side, a series of bridges will be built near Kala Nagar for smoother movement.

“In less than a year’s time, we will be able to achieve substantial progress in creating facilities which would totally make the movement in and out of BKC seamless,” he promised.

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