New Delhi, December 17, 2022: The Eknath Shinde-led government has decided to overturn a decision taken by the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi regime to build an aquarium and develop an urban forest on the Worli dairy plot. Now, a committee has been set up to decide on the possible use of the land.
Reacting to the development, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and Worli MLA Aaditya Thackeray alleged the dairy plot could be handed over to builders.
“I am told that a committee has been formed consisting of a few ministers to change the use of Worli dairy plot from an aquarium and open space and urban forest to other purposes. This illegal government will probably auction it to a commercial or a builder. The unconstitutional government must come clean on this. It can’t sell Mumbai for its selfish interests. We need open spaces and tourist places,” he tweeted.
A senior official from the agriculture, dairy development and fisheries department said 10 days ago, a committee was set up under the chairpersonship of Shinde with deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, dairy development minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, and tourism minister Mangalprabhat Lodha as members to decide on the land use. However, the government resolution is yet to be uploaded.
Despite attempts, Vikhe Patil could not be reached for his comment.
Worli dairy, spread over 14 acres, has almost closed its operations and the plot houses the office of dairy development commissioner. The land is owned by the dairy development department according to the reports published in hindustantimes.com.
The urban development department had on February 22 changed the use of the plot from dairy to ‘marine research institute, aquarium, exhibition centre’ with ‘the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai and/or the government of Maharashtra’ as an appropriate authority to develop this portion and showed the rest of the land as ‘government offices’.
In the last budget, finance minister Ajit Pawar had said that “an international standard tourist complex is planned at Worli dairy complex. A detailed project report will be prepared by an international architect”.
Then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray had in December 2019 asked the tourism department to prepare a plan to build an aquarium on that plot.
