Mumbai Salt Pan Lands to Open-up for Development

The Land Starved Real Estate Industry of Mumbai just got a breather. Privately owned salt pan land would be made available for redevelopment. The union govt have earlier opposed redevelopment of Salt pan land, but a recent high court order asking the Union Govt. not to create any legal obstructions for the developers seem to have given a fresh breath of air to the already land starved developers.


Some 2000 acres of salt pan land had already been bought by real estate developers for a long time now. Real estate developers seem to be most far sighted of all breeds, but then then eventually all land have be developed some time or the other. As Max said in superman returns, they have stopped manufacturing Lands.


On my way to work everyday for the past one year, when we approach Airoli from Mulund, and as we cross the airoli bridge, the vast tracts of Salt pan, with heaps of white salt piled in neat hillocks, have always been a treat to the eye. I had never seen salt pan before I cam to Mumbai, and would never have had the office not been in Mahape, Navi Mumbai. I always wanted to take some pictures, but I always forget to take my camera. If those land are also included, ugly building will now replace those beautiful salt lands.

It may not be such a natural sight to someone who have seen it all their lives, but to me it was different. Last vestige of natural beauty, in the concrete jungle that we are in.

Environmentalist, of course, have been saying that exploiting the salt pan lands for real estate development will be suicidal.