Mumbai: Lower Parel in the south-central area of Mumbai will in all likelihood be chosen for area-wise development for the Smart City project by the civic body, officials say.
Once home to mills, development in the area began with the repurposing of mill land and the area is now dominated by luxury skyscraper apartments, upscale restaurants and pubs, premium office space, hotels and malls.
According to a comprehensive transportation study of Mumbai, this area offers 0.98 million employment opportunities, which makes Lower Parel the Central Business District (CBD) of Mumbai.
A study by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) shows key initiatives for CBD Lower Parel would include Smart Road Traffic Management for four key roads, Emergency Route Mapping, Mobypark: helps to locate parking slots in the area, smart water supply, upgrading infrastructure and WiFi access for the entire area.
BMC officials say though Lower Parel is one of the strongest contenders for area-wise development, also being considered are Nariman Point and KalaGhoda for commerce and tourism development, Andheri West as an IT hub and Malad for biodiversity tourism.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced his vision to set up the 100 smart cities mission soon after he came to power and this mission intends to promote adoption of smart solutions for efficient use of available assets, resources and infrastructure. Smart cities will receive funding from the centre to boost core infrastructure.
In that context, if Lower Parel is selected, many of its existing services will be improved. For example, the BMC supplies water to the area for three to hours a day but by the end of next year, the water supply will be increased to 20 hours and eventually to 24/7 water supply.
The Smart Road Traffic Management for the four key roads — M.M. Joshi, Senapati Bapat, Ganpatrao Kadam and Pandurang Budhkar Marg—will be in place during peak hours. The railway stations — Lower Parel, Parel, Elphinstone Road, Chinchpokli, Mahalakshmi and Currey Road — located within one kilometre radius of the area will also be targeted for a face-lift.
While east west connectivity will be improved, roads at the entry of Elphinstone bridge as well as the bridge itself will be widened and upgraded for better flow of traffic.
Moreover, CCTVs will be installed at bus stops and key locations (over 70 places for safety and security) and smart public toilets will be built at railway stations, bus stops and markets. Public toilets for women will be set up at every 0.5 km.
