Redevelopment of Mumbai mills

India United Mill, Parel district – one of Mumbai's larger cotton mills and also one of the few to be owned by the government.

The redevelopment of Mumbai's cotton mills began in 1992, when efforts began to demolish the numerous cotton mills that once dotted the landscape of Mumbai, India, to make way for new residential and commercial buildings, as part of the wider modernization of Mumbai.

The cotton mill era and its decline

The mills of Girangaon were once integral to Mumbai's economy, particularly during the British colonial period, when Mumbai (then known as Bombay) was often referred to as the "Manchester of the East".[1] However, with the development of newer industries in and around Mumbai, these mills ceased to be profitable, and fell into a state of disrepair.

In the first half of the nineteenth century, India exported cotton to Britain, and then reimported the textile. In 1820, the total textile import was valued at Rs. 350,000. However, the cost had escalated significantly by 1860, when textile imports stood at Rs. 19.3 million. The impetus towards the founding of a cotton industry came from Indian entrepreneurs. The first Indian cotton mill, "The Bombay Spinning Mill", was opened in 1854 in Bombay by Cowasji Nanabhai Davar. Opposition from the Lancashire mill owners was eventually offset by the support of the British manufacturers of textile machinery.

The cotton mills of Bombay, and the rest of India, were owned and managed mainly by Indians. The initial investments came from families of the mill-owners, mainly obtained from trading. Later, when shares became available to the public, much of the ownership still remained Indian – of the 53 mills in the city in 1925, only 14 were British-owned. The management and directorships of these mills were also mainly Indian; of the 386 directorships recorded in 1925, only 44 were English.

By 1870, there were 13 mills in Bombay. Cotton exports grew during the American Civil War, when supplies from the USA's cotton plantations were interrupted. At the end of 1895, there were 70 mills; growing to 83 in 1915. A period of stagnation set in during the recession of the 1920s. In 1925, there were 81 mills in the city. After World War II, under strong competition from Japan, the mills declined. In 1953, there remained only 53 active mills in the city.[2]

Abandoned machinery at Madhusudan Mills, Lower Parel.

Gradually, the government relaxed its norms that once restricted the redevelopment of mill lands, and as a result, numerous high-profile builders quickly took possession of these land parcels. Between 1990 and 2010, the majority of these mill lands were acquired and redeveloped.

Phoenix Mills, Parel, which is now a shopping mall.
Ruins at Shakti Mills

List of mills in Mumbai

The table below lists the names and district locations of Mumbai's former mills, and the structures (if any) that stand on their land today. This list is not exhaustive.

Name of former mill Location New development
Ambika Mills Worli Namaste Tower
Apollo Mills (South) Mahalaxmi Lodha Bellissimo/Primero
Bharat Mills Lower Parel India bullsBleu
Bombay Dyeing & Manufacturing Company Worli Hard Rock Café[3] / ICC Bombay Realty
Bombay Dyeing (Spring Mills) Dadar Spring Mills tower
Bradbury Mills Jacob Circle No development
Century Spinning & Weaving Mills Worli Century Bazaar
China Mill compound Sewri Dosti Flamingos[4]
Dawn Mills Lower Parel Peninsula/Piramal Project
Digvijay Mills Kalachowkie No development
Elphinstone Mills (South) Elphinstone Indiabulls Finance Centre and Indiabulls Sky Suites
Gokuldas Morarjee Mills no.1 Parel Ashok Towers[5]
Gokuldas Morarjee Mills no.2 Lower Parel Peninsula Corporate park
Gold Mohur Mills Dadar No development
Hindoostan Spinning & Weaving Mills No.1 Jacob Circle Raheja Vivarea
Hindoostan Spinning & Weaving Mills no.2 Jacob Circle Kalpataru Heights
Hindoostan Spinning & Weaving Mills no.3 (Crown Mills) Prabhadevi Orchid Crown
India United Dye Works no.6 (North) Prabhadevi India International Trade Center
India United Mills no.1 (North) Parel/Currey Road No development
India United Mills no.2 Kalachowkie MCGM
India United Mills no.3 Kalachowkie MCGM
India United Mills no.4 Kalachowkie MHADA
India United Mills no.5 Byculla No development
India United Mills no.6 Mahim No development
Jam Mills Lalbaug MHADA
Jupiter Mills (South) Lower Parel Indiabulls Sky[6]
Kamala Mills Lower Parel Kamala City
Khatau Makanji Spinning & Weaving Mills Jacob Circle No development
Kohinoor Mills No.1 (North) Dadar (E) No development
Kohinoor Mills No.2 (North) Dadar (E) No development
Kohinoor Mills No.3 (North) Dadar(W) Kohinoor Mill Mall[7]
Mafatlal Mills no.1 Byculla Behind Jeejamata Udyan
Mafatlal Mills no.2 Byculla
Mafatlal Mills no.3 Lower Parel Marathon Futurex
Matulya Mills Lower Parel Sun Palazzo
Mukesh Textile Mills Colaba Venue for Bollywood filming
Modern Mills Jacob Circle Mahindra Belvedere Court
Morarjee Textile Mills Parel Ashok Towers
Mumbai Textile Mills (Sakseria Mills) Lower Parel DLF Place
New City of Bombay Mfg Mills Kalachowkie No development
New Great Eastern Spinning & Weaving Mills Byculla No development
New Hind Textile Mills Byculla MHADA
New Islam Mills Lower Parel One Avighna Park
Phoenix Mills Lower Parel High Street Phoenix
Piramal Spinning & Weaving Mills Lower Parel Marathon Nextgen by Marathon Group
Poddar Mills Mahalaxmi No development
Poddar Processors (Edward Mills) Lower Parel Indiabulls Bleu
Prakash Cotton Mills Worli No development
Raghuvanshi Mills Lower Parel K-lifestyle
Ruby Mills Dadar Ruby Corporate Park
Shakti Mills Mahalaxmi No development
Shree Madhusudan Mills (South)
Shree Ram Mills Worli Palais Royale, Mumbai
Shriniwas Mills Lower Parel World One
Simplex Mills Jacob Circle Planet Godrej
Sitaram Mills Mahalaxmi MCGM
Standard Mills Prabhadevi Sheth Beaumonde and Chaitanya Towers
Sun Mills Compound Lower Parel Zenzi Mills Club / Lokhandwala Victoria
Swadeshi Mills Kurla Swadeshi Garden
Swan Mills Sewri Ashok Gardens[8]
Tata Mills (North) Dadar (E) No development
Victoria Mills Lower Parel Victoria House (Commercial) & Car park
Western India Spinning & Weaving Mill Kalachowkie No development

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Paradox of Mumbai: Slums, Stocks, Stars and the New India - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International". Spiegel.de. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  2. ↑ "The Cotton Mills: Mumbai/Bombay pages". Theory.tifr.res.in. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  3. ↑ "Hard Rock Cafe MUMBAI". Hardrock.com. 2006-09-12. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  4. ↑ "Dosti Group". Dosti Group. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  5. ↑ "Projects". Peninsula. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  6. ↑ "Indiabulls Sky". Indiabulls.com. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  7. ↑ "The Hindu : National : Kohinoor Mills land sale: Shiv Sena changing stance?". Hinduonnet.com. 2005-09-07. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  8. ↑ "Projects". Peninsula. Retrieved 2011-10-26.

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