Light at the end of the tunnel

Mumbai: About 40 years back, a slimy builder was taking a walk around the seashore in south Mumbai one balmy Saturday and had a brainwave. Why not fill a portion of the sea with mud and stones and build huge office complexes? So he collected a few of his fellow slimes and approached the then chief minister of the state for permission.

"Not a bad idea." thought the chief minister. He could have a cute little office there for his second wife while his first wife managed his cooperative sugar factory in his hometown in Jalgoan, in interior Maharashtra. Besides, his third son-in-law was a construction contractor.

The slimes then met the sethjees of Cuffe Parade and Carmicheal Road. "Not a bad idea," they too thought, collectively. This way they could come to office leisurely, go home to their wives for lunch and go early in the evenings to keep their tryst with their keeps.

That is how Nariman Point was born. And for decades, thousands and thousands of commuters travel every day from Virar to Churchgate or from Dombivili to Fort to satisfy the whims of the politicians and the sethjis.

The Mumbaiite is known for his resilience, but there is a limit for everything. Even the sardines packed in tins have a better deal. This has also led to Mumbai slowly, but surely, losing its primary importance as the country's commercial hub.

By 2010, Mumbai will have around 27 million inhabitants, becoming the world's second-most populous city after Tokyo. The manufacturing sector is no longer the city's main employer. Increasingly, services are filling the vacuum but in a haphazard manner.

Competition from other cities, many in South Asia and some in India itself, are attracting investment in the services sectors such as financial services, software, media, printing and publishing. The new century will emphasise the importance of cities in the health of national economics. It will also require to be globally competitive.

To ensure that Mumbai regains and retains its status as the prime commercial hub of India, Bombay First, an initiative of the Mumbai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was formed. Bombay First aims to be something that has so far been lacking an institution that looks at the city holistically, helping it adapt and restructure continually as economic environments alter.

According to its charter, Bombay First is an initiative to make the city a better place to live, work and invest in. As stated in its charter, it aims to serve the city with the best that private business can offer. It will achieve this by addressing the problems of today and the opportunities of tomorrow, through partnerships with the government, business and the civil society.

Bombay First will help to improve the economic and social infrastructure of the city to make it globally competitive and improve the quality of life of its citizens. It aims to achieve its mission by creating public opinion based on facts and researched information, bringing together people and institutions from diverse fields to resolve problems and find solutions and creating an environment, by setting in motion processes whereby things begin to happen.

Last week, a report on how to make Mumbai a world-class city, prepared by the world renowned consultancy firm McKinsey was presented to the Maharashtra government. The report says transforming India's financial capital Mumbai into a world-class city requires investments of up to $10 billion. The report goes on to say that Mumbai needs to catch up with other financial cities like Singapore and Dubai.

McKinsey has suggested that immediate steps need to be taken for beautifying the key roads and constructing new public toilets. The funds and resources are very much there, and Mumbai need not look elsewhere for financial help. With proper raising and utilisation of funds, the city can grow at the rate of 10 per cent a year, as more than 30 per cent of the country's income tax is collected from the city.

The city's per capita income at current prices is Rs 48,954, which is twice that of Maharashtra and a little more than three times that of India. Hence, raising a billion dollar for the Bombay First initiative is no big deal.

The chief minister of Maharashtra has accepted most of the suggestions of the McKinsey report and has appointed a special secretary to oversee the implementation of these suggestions. He also said the state will contribute 60 billion rupees ($1.3 billion) towards the Mumbai Infrastructure Fund that will be set up to finance Mumbai's transformation into an international financial city.

It looks like the city has found some succour.