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 redevelopment and 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". 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 102 mills; growing to 136 by 1900. A period of stagnation set in during the recession of the 1920s. After World War II, under strong competition from Japan, the mills declined. In 1973, there remained only 79 active mills in the city.
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.
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 Lal Baug Hilla Towers Bombay Dyeing & Manufacturing Company Worli Hard Rock Café / 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 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 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 Hubtown - 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 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 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 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 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 Brownfield land List of tallest buildings in Mumbai Urban regeneration
References
External links
"The Cotton Mills" – article by Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai