Mumbai Film City: Nod to convert 130-acre no-development zone to industrial zone

The move is expected to facilitate redevelopment of the premises and attract more investment, said an official.

Heeding to a longstanding demand of the industry, the Urban Development Department (UDD) of the state government has converted nearly 130 acres of land at Mumbai’s Film City from no-development zone to industrial zone.

The move is expected to facilitate redevelopment of the premises and attract more investment, said an official.

The UDD is now seeking suggestions and objections from the public over the additions proposed on the land concerned.

“We had requested the department to convert some area into an industrial zone to facilitate the development of good-quality infrastructure for production and post-production facilities. We have 521 acres of land at Film City, of which only 360 acres was in the industrial zone. Now, 130 more acres have been converted into industrial zone,” Manisha Verma, managing director of the Film City Corporation, said.

The change in land use classification will facilitate development of amenities like convention centres, studios including those offering special effects facility, outdoor location, administration office, small screen theatre and amphitheatre, all of which are much needed to boost the sector and generate employment and revenue for the state, the official added.

Officials said that at a time when other states, such as Uttar Pradesh, were vying to attract filmmakers, the change in classification will help Film City upgrade its infrastructure.

“With the change in land classification, we will get a Floor Space Index (FSI) of 1 for construction, which will help us improve our infrastructure and tackle the competition that is being posed by other states,” a film city officer said.

The revamp aims to turn Film City into a Hollywood studio kind of space, another officer said.

“We want to have a state-of-the-art set-up, complete with production, pre-production and post-production facilities. Bollywood is one of India’s biggest cultural identities and as of today, there is nothing major that we have to showcase. We want to develop Film City on the lines of Hollywood, where visitors can watch the shooting in a viewing area. Top film-making companies from the West had shown keen interest in the project,” the officer added.

On concerns over possible threat to natural vegetation on the premises in the wake of the new constructions, the officer said, “We feel that the flora will be untouched while executing this makeover. We will ensure that the trees and the greenery are maintained as it is.”

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