Corporate hub to replace Aarey?

With the continuous downward spiralling of Aarey Dairy, private and government organisations suggest various other profitable ventures that could be opened in its place Could you imagine Mumbai without Aarey Dairy?If suggestions from private and government agencies are taken into account, it could be a reality, as the dairy complex at Worli Sea face would make place for anything from a office complex to a convention centre.After declaring the Aarey Dairy complex at Worli Sea Face 'sick', owing to the lossesu00a0 it has been facing and the pitiable condition of the landmark site, the sprawling complex was the focus of talks again when governmental agencies and top names from the dairy industry came together and discussed plans of shutting down the dairy and opening up a more profitable venture at the coveted site.u00a0These proposals were tabled before the Chief Minister.Several parties were present for the talks, including other competitors like Mahanand Dairy, MMRDA officials, and architects.While some made plans of opening up a corporate hub, there were other plans of opening a packaging plant or even turning it into a parking lot.Corporate HubRatnakar Gaikwad, the Chief Secretary of the MMRDA tabled a proposal of constructing a high-end corporate hub across the 14-acres of land. Gaikwad also proposed that the residential quarters of the dairy staff and the offices including that of Dairy Commissioner be shifted to Goregaon or Kurla. New DairyWhile MMRDA and Das and associates looked to taking over the land and utilising the land for commercial purposes, the National Dairy Development Board wanted to overtake the land to market their existing brand Mother Dairy. Officials stated that they would open a state of the art dairy at Kurla with a capacity of producing 10-lakh litre of milk at Kurla. They also stated that they would overtake all of the 1,800 retail outlets of Aarey and promote Mother dairy products. However, NDDB said that they would not retain any of Aarey's 3,500 employees. Packaging plantThe US major food giant Schrieber who bought 51 per cent stake in Dynamix Dairy tabled some ambitious plans for Aarey Dairy. It stated that they wanted to set up a hi-tech tetra packaging plant worth Rs 20 crore at Kurla. Officials also added that they would continue the production of popular items lassi, and Energee.u00a0They added that tetra packaging companies are located outside the city, for which octroi has to be paid to transport the items, and having a plant within the city would help save money. Mahanand DairyMahanand is keen to take over the existing dairy and expand their existing milk supply chain by making optimum use of the Aarey's existing diary. However, they are not keen to take over the existing employees of Aarey. Convention CentreWell-known architects and planners from PK Das and associates had an extreme makeover for the dairy at Worli. In their presentation, they proposed a plan of constructing a convention centre. The designers also suggested restaurants, offices, an exhibition centre and a sprawling parking lot at the space. Aarey office bearersIn an attempt to protect their futures, senior office bearers tabled a scheme where the state government would form a company called the Greater Mumbai milk scheme. They also added that the state should pay the 3,500 employees for the first five years, after which the company itself would pay the salary.