Mumbai, Aug. 22 -- Mumbai First, a city-based think tank, has written to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis opposing the Mumbai Port Authority's (MbPA's) decision to lease 28 plots for industrial and commercial purposes, urging him to intervene and facilitate the implementation of the earlier plan to develop an eastern waterfront for the city. The letter, dated August 18, quotes HT's August 16 report titled 'Unbuilt Vision: Why Mumbai's Eastern Waterfront dream was so remarkable'. The report was about the MbPA's 2018 plan to transform 966.3 hectares of land it owns on Mumbai's eastern shoreline into a promenade, open spaces, gardens, and other amenities for the city. With the port authority now deciding to lease out 28 plots across 215 acres, as first reported by HT on August 12, the ambitious eastern waterfront proposal has now been all but shelved. "By way of this letter, we urge you to kindly intervene and facilitate the development of the valuable eastern waterfront in a holistic manner towards the larger benefit of Mumbai, and towards Maharashtra meeting its aspiration of becoming a trillion-dollar economy and sustaining the growth momentum," the letter said. If the Mumbai Port Authority decides to go ahead with leasing its land parcels, "we are afraid that Mumbai's dream of becoming a world-class city would be delayed by a few decades," Mumbai First said in the letter. Many other developed cities, such as London and Singapore, have redeveloped their port lands and boosted their economic prospects, the letter added. The think tank has urged Fadnavis to intervene and ask the MbPA and the Union shipping minister to implement the approved parts of the master plans proposed by the erstwhile committees. "We recognise that there are several challenges associated with implementing such a plan, but we recommend due consideration and planned implementation in phases if required," the letter said. This would be vital in realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "vision to make Maharashtra a growth engine and Mumbai a world-class financial capital," the letter added....