MUMBAI, Dec. 4 -- A citizen's petition opposing the monetisation of public land has registered a strong response, with over 6,000 signatures opposing the transfer of prime government lands to private entities. The change.org petition by Sucheta Dalal, founder trustee of Moneylife Foundation, follows a vehement statement about such monetisation signed by over 128 prominent citizens, including former police commissioner Julio Ribeiro, former chief of naval staff Vishnu Bhagwat, retired Bombay High Court judge Gautam Patel and organisations such as Urban Design Research Institute, Vanashakti and Amchi Mumbai Amchi BEST. As reported earlier by HT, the eminent citizens' letter raised concerns about the massive monetisation of public land, almost 18% of Mumbai's total area, purportedly to facilitate upgradation. This newspaper had also reported how these 6021.5 acres of Mumbai's total habitable land of 34,000 acres had been unlocked by the central and state governments. A white paper brought out by a group of NGOs, activists, lawyers and academics, coordinated by Moneylife Foundation, has now demanded that the Maharashtra government suspend all proposed monetisation, and public lands be utilised only for genuine public purposes like housing, civic amenities and open spaces. Dalal told HT that while the public response to the issue was huge, the government was yet to respond. "We may have to file under the Right to Information to get more data on the government lands and may even consider filing a public interest petition if the government fails to respond," she said. The petition followed a white paper brought out by the Maharashtra government think-tank MITRA, which recommended selling BEST depot lands as the only way for BEST to meet its electrification targets. Pointing out that BEST was sitting on more than "one hundred acres of land across the city", the paper said that the monetisation model across 10 of BEST's larger depots was enough to mobilise "Rs.10,000 to 12,000 crore by 2035". "For example, (at) the Bandra depot site. commercial floor space commands prices of Rs.25,000 to Rs.30,000 per square foot," stated the paper. "Even modest vertical redevelopment could yield seven to eight lakh square feet of commercial area, valued at Rs.1,500 to Rs.2,000 crore. Dindoshi and Deonar have similar potential. Together, just three depots could generate inflows of Rs.6,000 to Rs.7,000 crore-enough to finance the procurement of 3,000 to 3,500 electric buses, covering almost a third of BEST's electrification target." The white paper argued that if this did not happen, BEST would remain dependent on municipal subsidies and continue to lose passengers. "If, however, TOD and MMI are implemented as proposed, BEST can achieve a fleet of 12,500 electric buses by 2035, expand depot capacity to house them, stabilise ridership at 4 million passengers daily and generate 25-30% of revenues from non-fare sources by the same year," stated the paper....