Number of words: 226

The East India Company had given large parcels of land to Navroji Jamsetji Wadia in Juhu, which was then a fishing village. Jamsetji decided to buy land in Juhu, Parle, Madh Island and other areas and build a Venice-like city. The price was ` 3 per square foot, an expensive proposition in those times. In those days, Bombay extended up to Sion, but Jamsetji was looking beyond. His plans for the new town included not just Juhu, Bandra and Andheri, but land right up to Versova. He needed more than 1,200 acres of land to turn his dream into a reality. The British Resident of Thane supported Jamsetji but Wadia was unwilling to sell.

So, Jamsetji looked towards Mahim for his town project, but realized that the small dairies around the town would create a problem as it grew in the future. He realized, though, that the grass in western Bombay right up to Kurla, with its natural salt content, was ideal for grazing cows and would return a high milk yield. He therefore requested the government to allow him to develop 1,000 acres for cattle grazing. Even today, the large concentration of dairy farmers one sees in the Goregaon and Jogeshwari areas is testimony to Jamsetji’s efforts.

Excerpted from Pg 19 of Tatas: How a family built a business and a nation by Girish Kuber