Devendra Fadnavis picks team to broker Air India building deal with ministry

  • | Wednesday | 16th January, 2019

The airline has already shifted its corporate headquarters from here to Delhi.Speaking to TOI, a senior state bureaucrat said, “We had submitted a bid document. While the last date for submitting bids was December 31, Air India received only two bids __ one from the state government and the other from LIC. These corporations had recently paid nearly Rs 5,000 crore for the Nagpur-Mumbai expressway.He said if the government succeeds in buying the Air India building, it can shift many offices functioning out of rented premises. In fact, we are sure Prabhu will step in and ensure the building is transferred in the name of the state government as early as possible,” he added.Designed by the New York-based firm of Johnson/Burgee, the Air India building was completed in 1974. The bureaucrat said Air India is expecting a price of Rs 1,500-Rs 2,000 crore for it.It won’t be easy though for Maharashtra government to raise funds in view of the CM’s commitments to populist schemes.

MUMBAI: Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday set up a committee comprising senior bureaucrats to negotiate the purchase of the iconic Air India building on Marine Drive in South Mumbai with the ministry of civil aviation.The panel comprises chief secretary Dinesh Kumar Jain, finance secretary U P S Madan, industries secretary Satish Gavai and the CM’s principal secretary Bhushan Gagrani.Though the building comes with a huge price tag, it is expected to ease administration as well as cut down on the state’s rental costs. The state government is banking on cash-rich state-run corporations such as Cidco, MIDC, Slum Rehabilitation Authority and Mhada to raise funds for acquisition.Debt-ridden national carrier Air India had floated tenders on December 7 for sale of the 23-storey building. While the last date for submitting bids was December 31, Air India received only two bids __ one from the state government and the other from LIC. The airline has already shifted its corporate headquarters from here to Delhi.Speaking to TOI, a senior state bureaucrat said, “We had submitted a bid document. However, it has now been proposed that it should be a government-to-government transfer, from the ministry of civil aviation to the state government at a mutually decided price.”He said the CM was keen on buying the building in view of its strategic location, with both the state secretariat and the legislative assembly in the vicinity. “While the negotiating team will discuss the proposal with senior bureaucrats in the ministry, Fadnavis himself will take it up with civil aviation minister Suresh Prabhu If Prabhu agrees, government-to-government transfer of the property should not be difficult. In fact, we are sure Prabhu will step in and ensure the building is transferred in the name of the state government as early as possible,” he added.Designed by the New York-based firm of Johnson/Burgee, the Air India building was completed in 1974. The bureaucrat said Air India is expecting a price of Rs 1,500-Rs 2,000 crore for it.It won’t be easy though for Maharashtra government to raise funds in view of the CM’s commitments to populist schemes. The state’s debt burden has crossed the Rs 4.53-lakh crore mark and it needs another Rs 75,000 crore to implement schemes, including the seventh pay commission, loan waiver as well as projects for Dr Ambedkar and Shivaji Maharaj memorials.“We can request state-run corporations such as Slum Rehabilitation Authority, MIDC, Mhada and Cidco to join hands for raising funds,’’ he said. These corporations had recently paid nearly Rs 5,000 crore for the Nagpur-Mumbai expressway.He said if the government succeeds in buying the Air India building, it can shift many offices functioning out of rented premises. “Several state-run offices operate out of rental buildings. If these offices are shifted to the building, it will result in savings.”

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