CM Fadnavis calls for task force meeting on January 15

Mumbai: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has called a task force meeting on January 15 to decide the ‘master plan’ for the construction of an Interna-tional Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC). They will discuss the hurdles in setting up the IFSC in an earmarked 50 hectare site in BKC and the feasibility of preferring an alternate site if needed, sources told The Asian Age.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has recently informed the parliament that the central government would consider the IFSC proposal of Mumbai only after the construction of the financial hub in Gujarat, the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT), a central business district between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar being built on 359 hectares of land. According to Mr Jaitley, two IFSCs are not feasible.

The Union civil aviation ministry also rejected the proposal as the proposed structure exceeds the height restriction limits of 80 metres for the funnel area according to the aviation norms.

In the backdrop of these developments and delay of more than two years, CM Fadnavis has called a meeting of the task force. “We may start construction for IFSC and let the central government decide about sanctioning the IFSC,” sources added.

Though the central government is not willing to approve the IFSC, but the master plan is ready considering the 50 hectare land at BKC. The government is willing to give 0.9 hectare land for the bullet train project and a three-layered underground station will be constructed for it, reducing the parking area of IFSC.

If the government goes ahead with the BKC site without the approval of the central government, then it will be risky project because tax concessions, rupee conversions and many other things are required to compete with the IFSCs of other countries and merely buildings is not enough, sources said.

Confusion over centre

There is confusion over the policy issue of IFSC. CM Fadnavis had initially decided to set up it to compete with the ‘gift city’ in Gujarat and then said it was a ‘supporting or parallel’ structure. Later, he told that the Maharashtra government would develop a Financial Technology hub.