Powai Residents Urge MMRDA To Reassess Proposed GCC Project Over Traffic, Infrastructure And Emergency Access Concerns

Mumbai's Powai residents have called on the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to reevaluate the proposed Global Capability Centre (GCC) site, raising concerns over traffic, road capacity, emergency access, drainage and the potential impact on existing civic infrastructure.

A delegation of the Powai Action Forum (PAF) met with MMRDA Commissioner Dr Sanjay Mukherjee at the authority's office, presenting a petition with over 2,000 resident signatures opposing the GCC's current form. The forum also submitted a separate request for the long-overdue execution of sub-leases for cooperative housing societies under the Powai Area Development Scheme (PADS).

The residents warn that the proposed GCC could generate an estimated daily traffic of nearly one lakh commuters and over 20,000 vehicles in Powai, exacerbating congestion on an already strained road network. Forum members maintain that their opposition is not to economic growth or urban development, but rather a plea for prudent planning.

They pointed out that a significant portion of the neighborhood is served by a 60-foot-wide access route that may prove insufficient to manage the anticipated traffic influx. Forum members also expressed worry about traffic and emergency access around educational institutions like Hiranandani Foundation School and S.M. Shetty College, noting that current congestion can already cause delays in accessing hospitals.

The forum highlighted the issue of pending sub-leases for residential societies in Hiranandani Gardens, where many flat purchasers have been waiting for decades for legal sub-leases, while commercial development in Powai proceeds.