Major industrial house moves to develop its land

THANE: The Thane real estate industry has finally something to cheer about. The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) has at last received a project proposal from one of the many defunct industries that has been lying idle for over a decade.
Till now, a general slack in the construction sector meant the acres of open land remained vacant with no developer planning any project on it.
While the proposed project by the Nicholas Piramal group is being processed by the corporation, another major project on an industrial land is likely to take off this week. Sandoz Private Ltd is likely to submit a proposal for construction on its land in Kolshet, sources in the corporation said.
They added that that the Piramal group proposal, received this month, spans across a land of over 25 acres in Balkum.
While the proposal is to construct a housing project, officials said, part of the land, as much as 5 acres, has been kept aside for the ISKCON trust for construction of a temple.
The general slump in the real estate industry meant large chunks of land in Thane remained locked in the defunct industries, many of which shut shop in the past decade. Much like Mumbai's mill land, which when thrown open, provided the space-starved metropolis some breathing space, the Thane industrial land holds potential to boost city's development in a big way.
Some of the major industrial land lying idle for many years include Surendra Industries, Glaxo, Color Chem plant at Balkum and Bayer group's land in Kolshet. TMC officials are hoping, with the first proposal coming through, more will follow resulting in unlocking of land in Thane.
"Many of these industries shut shop because of poor government policies. But if this land opens up, it has the potential to change the face of Thane. Somehow, that has not happened because of the general low in real estate sector," said a prominent builder, who did not wish to be quoted.
Thane's real estate industry has been hit hard by a general slump in property, at the same time because of shortage of open land where new projects can be taken up. Most of the proposals that have lately been submitted to the corporation are related to redevelopment of old buildings or slums.