29.8.11

Mumbai as an IFC

India must unleash a second phase of financial reforms, especially in sectors like insurance and banking, if Mumbai has to develop as an international financial hub, said Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan. Acknowledging that world-class infrastructure too was crucial for the city’s development, Chavan said the government will invest Rs 26,000 crore in the Mumbai metropolitan region over the next few years to build infrastructure. Chavan said the PMO was keen on pushing ahead with the second phase of reforms when he was with it, but could not do so because of the Left’s resistance. “Right now, we don’t know what stage they have reached,” he said. The chief minister said mono rail is expected to run in the city by early 2012 and the metro soon after, making Mumbai comparable to any other big city in the world. Pointing out that the population pattern in Mumbai has changed with manufacturing activities moving out of the island city, Chavan said the government will now design policies to improve the quality of life in the city. The chief minister said about 450 km of metro and mono rail network will come up in the city and its suburbs, reaching as far as Panvel.

No comments: