NITI Aayog’s economic master plan for MMR: 10 planned cities, 2 tourism hubs, 7 business districts

Mumbai: NITI Aayog’s master plan for the robust economic growth of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) includes the development of 10 planned cities, two tourism hubs and seven business districts. The central government’s think tank has also pitched for the construction of affordable housing to rehabilitate 2.2 million slum homes and using 250 hectares of Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) land for tourism, housing, and recreational activities.
NITI Aayog’s economic master plan submitted to the Maharashtra government recently states that MMR’s potential remains substantially untapped. It has stressed the need to rehabilitate 2.2 million slum homes, of which 200,000 are on central government land occupied by agencies like the railways, ports, and defence. The think tank’s vision is to eradicate slums in the region by providing affordable housing, apart from attracting skilled workers from outside the state.
Roughly 40-50% of the slum-occupied land in MMR is “financially attractive for private participation” as the prevailing rates in these areas are at least ₹30,000 per square foot, NITI Aayog’s report states. It has proposed building affordable homes with a monthly rental of less than ₹15,000 for a 400 sq ft property on the lines of Singapore’s public housing policy. It has also asked for the state government’s intervention through viability gap funding of ₹20,000 crore for the remaining slum areas that are economically less attractive.
The master plan identifies financial services and fintech, new-age services, health and education, global aviation services, media and entertainment, global capability centres and data centres as “seven champions” for MMR’s transformation, with recommendations for overall development around them. The think tank has proposed world-class business districts at the Bandra Kurla Complex, Wadala, Kharghar and MbPT land similar to Canary Wharf in London and The Bund in Shanghai Bund. They will work as talent attraction magnets, the report states.
Pitching tourism as the sector with the capacity to account for $55-60 billion of the $160-billion GDP target for the region by FY30, the master plan has set a goal of increasing revenue from the sector by at least four times. It has proposed promoting beaches, coastal areas, and cruises; culture, heritage and forts; films and entertainment; and wellness-medical tourism, among other segments.
The think tank has proposed constructing a 40-million-litre capacity oceanarium at MbPT or Mumbai Trans Harbour Link influence area, and a 200-hectare themed adventure park south of Navi Mumbai, with resorts, ride zones, and water parks. It has also proposed a world-class Film City at Goregaon/Andheri with a “Bollywood Broadway”, iconic studios, event venues and theatres.
Apart from three million affordable homes, the master plan also talks about 150-175 million sqft of additional office space, 12,000-15,000 premium starred hotel rooms, 25-30 new colleges in the streams of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), medical, law, and liberal arts for 20,000 graduates annully, 15,000 additional tertiary hospital beds, and 70 million sqft warehousing spaces, among others.
NITI Aayog has asked for the central government’s intervention in key proposals, such as the redevelopment of MbPT, the redevelopment of 200,000 slum households on central land, and facilitating height clearance approvals near airports. The Centre should also consider including projects such as the Vadhavan port, 172-km suburban rail corridors and the Alibag-Virar modal corridor as part of its Pragati review system chaired by the prime minister, the report states.
The think tank has recommended a quarterly review of the master plan by the chief minister and deputy chief minister, and a monthly review by the chief secretary of Maharashtra.