After two notices to the Growels 101 mall, which reported last quarter earnings of Rs40 crore, in Kandivali east demanding the handover of the development plan (DP) road went unheard, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has now written to the mall management to submit the design for the proposed 60 feet access road on immediate basis. A month ago, the mall authorities had committed to provide the design within two days as a temporary substitute for the development plan road, but failed to act on its commitment.
As the residents of Kandivali have been demanding the opening up of the DP road passing from the Growels 101 mall, all eyes are currently on a substitute 60 feet road that the mall had promised to open for the motorists driving from Akurli road to the Western Express Highway. On March 15, north Mumbai member of parliament Gopal Shetty had called a meeting with the mall authorities, assistant engineer of the BMC and the traffic police, and directed the mall to remove its gates and provide a continuous 60 feet access road till the highway.
During the meeting, the mall had committed to prepare a design for the proposed road and submit it to the BMC within two days and make the road functional within fifteen days. However, even after almost a month, the mall has neither opened up the road nor has submitted the design plan to the BMC.
BMC's Urgent Call For Action From Growels 101 Mall Owners
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After the Lokhandwala Residents Association (LRA) of Kandivali (East) a reminder to the assistant municipal commissioner of the R-south ward Lalit Talekar regarding the 60 feet access road, the BMC has written a letter to M/s Grauer & Weil (India) Ltd, the owners of Growels 101 mall, asking it to submit the design plan and discuss the future plan of action with urgency.
The letter written by the assistant engineer (maintenance) of the R-south ward Hemant Pant on Saturday, says, “It was stated [by the mall] that a complete drawing showing access to Western Express Highway to the lane adjoining VIP House and Akurli Road will be submitted to BMC. However, till date, the same has not been received to this office.” Through the letter, the BMC requested the mall to submit the design and also asked to treat it as “most urgent”.
The FPJ contacted Yogesh Samat, director of the Growels 101 mall, who did not respond to our calls and messages.
Frustration In Kandivali Residents Mounts
Last month, the FPJ had reported about BMC’s second notice to the mall to hand-over the land in its vicinity reserved to construct a road under the development plan 2034. However, the mall has failed to initiate the land transfer process or even reply to the notice. This delay is adding up to the traffic woes of the residents of Kandivali east as well as nearby areas of Borivali and Malad.
Shishir Vivekanand Shetty, founder of LRA, said, “I have kept communication going with BMC as well as the mall asking them on the status of opening of the 60 feet road. However, we have received no concrete answers until now and there have been no solutions as mentioned by MP Gopal Shetty. It seems like the mall is not even pursuing the case unlike the commitment made by Ravi Kothari of the Growels mall.”
