Will 2,000cr redevelopment plan be dusted?

Mumbai: With Thursday's fire causing major damage to the eightstworied main building of the state secretariat, it appears that the Rs 2,000-crore Mantralaya makeover project, seriously discussed in 2009, could once again see the light of day. Or at least, it will be discussed for a while until the building is made habitable again.      The project envisaged by the state public works department has been mired in controversy, the last being the Opposition's allegation that the government had declared Mantralaya "a slum" to get additional FSI. Following the allegations, the government had said the project stood scrapped. "This was an old plan and stands scrapped even today," said state home minister R R Patil on Thursday when asked if the fire was a possible sabotage to revive the Mantralaya makeover project.      According to state officials, the project tender was bagged by construction and infrastructure firm Indiabulls. The project was intended to redevelop the main Mantralaya building, the administrative building opposite it and approximately 50 row bungalows. This would have made way for a massive tower to come up over a period of five years. The builder would get four to five acres of land in lieu of the redevelopment.      The state, in its approval application, had said it would develop the building under Clause 33(10) of the Development Control Regulations, a clause for slum redevelopment.      The plan, though, was declared unviable by PWD minister Chhagan Bhujbal. He had said that the state, in the wake of the allegations, would redevelop the building on its own. However, even that plan did not take off.      "It is, in a way, a blessing in disguise. These proposals haven't materialized because the fire safety then would have been a concern in a 30-to 40-storey building, as was being planned in the makeover project. If the fire in this building is proving to be tough to handle, imagine firefighting in that tall a building," said a state official.  BACK ON BOARD?  The Proposal      Redevelop the main Mantralaya building, the administrative building opposite it and approximately 50 row bungalows      A massive 30- to 40-storey tower would come in their place over a period of five years      The builder would get four to five acres of land in lieu of the redevelopment  The Obstacles      The Opposition alleged that the government had declared Mantralaya 'a slum' to get additional FSI      Following the allegations, the government had said the project stood scrapped