Tribunal to stop misuse of Mumbais open spaces……..Kunal Purohit
Even as activists express scepticism over the purpose of the new open spaces policy, the civic body on Tuesday proposed to set up a tribunal to monitor citizen complaints about the misuse of open spaces in the city.
The tribunal, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has proposed, will ensure that malpractices in the name of protecting open spaces are curbed.
The plan is an attempt to stop the storm of protests building up against the proposed policy, which is a modified version of the controversial caretaker policy. In its Tuesday edition, HT had published some details of the draft policy.
However, citizens groups believe that bringing back a modified caretaker policy, even one in which citizens have a say, will not work. Neera Punj, convener, Citispace, said: There is no need for the BMC to hand over open spaces to private players when it has enough money to maintain them.The state had stayed the caretaker policy in 2007, following citizen protests. The new provision was put in place at the recommendation of Chief Minister Ashok Chavan.
There have been legitimate concerns about plots being usurped by private players who were given plots on a caretaker basis.
Citizens will lose open spaces….Kunal Purohit
New Policy Activists upset as spaces will be given away to private players when plots can be maintained through adoption policy
New Policy Activists upset as spaces will be given away to private players when plots can be maintained through adoption policy
Expressing apprehension over the state and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporations (BMC) move to re-introduce a reworked version of the caretaker policy, activists on Tuesday said the move is a betrayal of citizens trust in the authorities to protect their rightful open spaces. In its Tuesday edition, Hindustan Times had reported about the new open spaces policy the BMC is drafting as an alternative to the controversial caretaker policy.
Activists are unhappy with the clauses in the new policy. Demanding that the state repeal the caretaker policy, Pankaj Joshi, executive director of Urban Design and Research Institute, said: Why gift away 25 per cent of every open space to private players when the maintenance of plots can be done free of cost through the adoption policy?
The civic body had two open spaces policies the adoption and the caretaker policies. Under the adoption policy, an open space could be given to a citizens group for five years for a deposit of Rs 25,000.
Only a 10 x 10 feet security enclosure could be constructed on the plot.
As per the caretaker policy, large plots could be handed over to big trusts or firms for 33 years. The trusts could construct on 25 per cent of the plot and operate it.
Citizens objected to this policy, saying that under the guise of leasing plots, trusts were encroaching on them and making them off-limits for people.
After vociferous protests, the state stayed both policies in 2007. With the re-introduction of the caretaker policy, albeit modified, activists fear the city will lose its open spaces.
The BMC knows how to present a seemingly citizen-friendly policy and twist it to make it out of bounds for citizens to participate in its implementation. Which citizens group will have enough resources to adopt open spaces? asked activist Rajkumar Sharma.
By drafting policies to hand over open spaces to private players, the authorities are abdicating their responsibility to maintain open spaces, despite having a garden budget of Rs 287 crore, said Citispace activist Vidya Vaidya.
Citispace, a citizens group that is fighting for open spaces, has drawn up cost estimates for protecting the citys open spaces.
About 940 acres of the open spaces need barricading and maintenance so the capital cost will be around Rs 103 crore in the first year. Then on, it will cost around Rs 56 crore a year, a pittance compared to the BMC budget, said Citispace convenor Neera Punj.