MUMBAI: Lashing out at the Navy and the Defence officials for obstructing development projects, Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Water Resources Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said, “We are the government. The Navy and the Defence Ministry are not the government.”
“Navy is needed at the borders from where terrorists sneak in. Why does everyone (in the Navy) wants to build quarters and flats in South Mumbai? They (Navy) had come to me, asking for a plot (of land). I will not give even an inch of land. Please don’t come to me again,” Gadkari declared, in presence of top naval, maritime and government officials, including Western Naval Command chief Vice Admiral Girish Luthra.
A few important and senior officials can stay in Mumbai, Gadkari said, adding that land on the eastern seafront being jointly developed by the state-run Mumbai Port Trust and the Maharashtra government would be utilised only for the benefit of local citizens.
Gadkari was in Mumbai to lay the foundation stone for the International Cruise Terminal. His outburst had a reference of recent High Court decision where the court refused to give permission for a floating restaurant off Nariman Point citing lack of nod from the Navy.
“Where is the Navy in Malabar Hill? A mindset has developed to create roadblocks in the work,” Gadkari said, referring to the High Court decision.
Gadkari further suggested that people approach him if any project is obstructed. “You bring the proposal before me. We are in power, not the Navy or the Defence Ministry. Prime Minister has set-up a committee under my Chairmanship for infrastructure clearance. I will get projects cleared. Many projects have been cleared just after reading the agenda,” said Gadkari.
South Mumbai is home to a sizeable presence of the Navy and houses the headquarters of the Western Naval Command, as well as the naval residential quarters at Navy Nagar in Colaba.
The four-storied International Cruise Terminal being developed on an area of 4.15 lakh sq ft at a cost of `300 crore is likely to be functional by June 2019. It would be an iconic building equipped to handle 200 cruise ships every year and would be able to handle 7 lakh passengers. “We want to develop facilities to handle 950 cruise ships and 40 lakh passengers every year,” Gadkari added.
At another ground breaking ceremony for a four-lane bridge across Vasai creek, Gadkari announced that the government would soon kick off a new project for six-lane Mumbai-Baroda expressway at the cost of `20,000 crore. Stressing on the need to run buses on ethanol and electricity, Gadkari also indicated that the government is planning to develop waterways around Mumbai. “We want to start 10,000 sea planes in near future,” he said. The minister added that in the next three months, rules and regulations would be put in place for operating seaplanes in the country.