The government of Maharashtra will soon convert the sprawling 14.5 acre Worli Dairy land in Mumbai into a marine research centre, a world-class aquarium and an exhibition centre.
The proposal seeks to carve out 11 acre of the complex for these new public facilities including an aquarium. The remaining area will be retained by the dairy commissioner’s office while the dairy itself will be shifted to Kurla.
The land has been under-utilised for many years and only a small quantity of milk is processed there. The state government will hand over the land either to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) or the tourism department once a formal decision is taken to change the land reservation.
Over the years, the property has been eyed by several builders because of its prime location on Worli Sea face. The real estate is worth thousands of crores because of its size and location.
At one time, the government is believed to have considered monetising the land to raise funds for Metro projects. The dairy department also has large tracts of land in Kurla and Goregaon.
In 2020, a 25 acre plot in Kurla, which once housed a Mother Dairy complex, was to be taken over by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) for commercial exploitation. MMRDA was planning to monetise the land to fund Metro projects. The land is under the state government's department of animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries.
About 10,000 sq mtr of the dairy land (2.5 acre) was surrendered to MMRDA for a viaduct and station of the upcoming Metro 2B line. The dairy, shut down a few decades back, will be revived and revamped by MMRDA. A residential building for dairy staff will be built by MMRDA.