Redevelopment of Mumbai mills

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India United Mill, Parel district – one of Mumbai's largest 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[edit]

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 United States'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 1973, there remained only 79 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[edit]

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 Lal Baug Hilla Towers
Bombay Dyeing & Manufacturing Company Worli Hard Rock Café[3] / ICC Bombay Realty
Bombay Dyeing (Spring Mills) Dadar Spring Mills tower
Bradbury Mills Mahalaxmi 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
Empire Mills Lower Parel Empire Business Park
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
Hindoostan Spinning & Weaving Mills no.4 Prabhadevi Wadhwa The 25 South
India United Dye Works no.6 (North) Prabhadevi Indu Mill Compound
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 Byculla Monte-South
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]
Madhusudhan Mills Worli Enpar Lotus Towers
Mafatlal Mills no.1 Byculla Piramal Aranya
Mafatlal Mills no.2 Byculla
Mafatlal Mills no.3 Lower Parel Marathon Futurex
Matrudas Mills Lower Parel Matrudas Mills Compound's
Matulya Mills Lower Parel Sun Palazzo, Ashford Casa Grande
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 Lodha The Park
New City of Bombay Mfg Mills Kalachowkie No development
New Great Eastern Spinning & Weaving Mills Byculla Peninsula Land (under construction)
New Hind Textile Mills Byculla MHADA
New Islam Mills Parel One Avighna Park
Paragon Mills Worli Paragon Centre
Phoenix Mills Lower Parel High Street Phoenix
Piramal Spinning & Weaving Mills Lower Parel Marathon Nextgen by Marathon Group
Poddar Mills Lower Parel No development
Poddar Processors (Edward Mills) Worli Indiabulls Blu
Prakash Cotton Mills Worli No development
Raghuvanshi Mills Lower Parel K-lifestyle
Ruby Mills Dadar Ruby Corporate Park
Shakti Mills Worli 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 Worli Zenzi Mills Club / Lokhandwala Victoria
Swadeshi Mills Kurla No development
Swan Mills Sewri Ashok Gardens[8]
Todi Mills Lower Parel Todi mills Compound
Tata Mills (North) Dadar (E) No development
Umri Mills Lower Parel Urmi Estate
Trinity Mills Prabhadevi Summer Trinity
Victoria Mills Lower Parel Victoria House (Commercial) & Car park
Western India Spinning & Weaving Mill Kalachowkie No development

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. "The Paradox of Mumbai: Slums, Stocks, Stars and the New India - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International". Spiegel.de. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  2. "The Cotton Mills: Mumbai/Bombay pages". Theory.tifr.res.in. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  3. "Hard Rock Cafe MUMBAI". Hardrock.com. 12 September 2006. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  4. "Dosti Group". Dosti Group. Archived from the original on 24 July 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  5. "Projects". Peninsula. Archived from the original on 7 November 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  6. "Indiabulls Sky". Indiabulls.com. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  7. "The Hindu : National : Kohinoor Mills land sale: Shiv Sena changing stance?". Hinduonnet.com. 7 September 2005. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  8. "Projects". Peninsula. Archived from the original on 13 November 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2011.

External links[edit]

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