Mumbai: BMC has proposed paying Rs 20 crore, including 18% GST, to Maharashtra Film, Theatre and Cultural Development Corporation Ltd (Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagari) towards provisional rent for land being used for the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR) twin-tunnel project.The amount includes Rs 17.01 crore towards rent and Rs 3.06 crore as GST for land being used by BMC up to March 31, 2029. The payment requires approval from BMC’s standing committee. The rent, however, will be subject to the actual period for which the land remains in BMC’s possession.The 12.2km GMLR is a key project connecting Mumbai’s eastern and western suburbs. Under Phase 2(B), three-lane twin tunnels, each forming part of a 5.3km tunnel stretch, are being constructed from Chitranagari or Film City in Goregaon East to Amar Nagar in Mulund West beneath Sanjay Gandhi National Park using Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) technology. The project also includes 17 cross passages, 720m of twin-box tunnels and 600m approach roads at Goregaon and Mulund.The project is expected to reduce travel time between the eastern and western suburbs from around 90 minutes to 20 minutes, according to the civic body.The project is being executed under a Design-Build Contract by J Kumar-NCC Pvt Ltd. The work commenced on Nov 20, 2023. According to the civic proposal, around 21% of the project has been completed. TBM-1 began tunnel excavation on Aug 10, 2026, while excavation by TBM-2 is expected to begin in Oct. The project passes through Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagari (Film City) area, where a 1,600m-long road is proposed.Several filming grounds have been affected by the project. BMC has also obtained Josh Maidan and Joker Maidan on temporary lease from Film City for project-related activities.A 1,600-metre-long and 10-metre-wide strip of land has been provided as a work area. Josh Maidan and Joker Maidan are being used for storing tunnel-mining equipment and temporarily storing sludge generated during tunnel excavation.According to the proposal, a decision was taken in a meeting chaired by the additional chief secretary at the Chief Minister’s Office to charge land rent at Rs 2.52 per sq ft per day for land temporarily transferred to BMC.Based on the land currently in physical possession, BMC has proposed an annual rent of Rs 51.3 lakh for the 1,600m-long, 10m-wide land strip from March 14, 2024, until its return to Chitranagari. For Josh Maidan, measuring 11,952.53 sq m, the annual rent is Rs 2.44 crore from June 16, 2025, while the annual rent for Joker Maidan, measuring 8,231.74 sq m, is Rs 1.68 crore from March 9, 2026, until the respective land is returned.According to the proposal, Rs 1.69 crore per year will be recovered from the contractor’s payments as rent, subject to the applicable standard rent increase.
