LOSING GROUND
BMC allows encroachment on 76 reserved open spaces……Sukhada Tatke
BMC allows encroachment on 76 reserved open spaces……Sukhada Tatke
Mumbai: A survey by the NGO CitiSpace shows that as many as 76 out of 599 open spaces that are in the possession of the BMC are either partly or fully encroached upon.The findings come just as the civic body is finalizing a draft to revive its controversial caretaker policy,which aims to parcel out public land to private players for part commercial development.The policy has been stayed for three years.
The encroached plots are recreation grounds,playgrounds,parks and gardens that have been reserved in the citys Development Plan.
Ward-wise,the most encroached plots,12,were found in D Ward (Tardeo,Walkeshwar,Girgaum); eight were found in H-East (Bandra-E,Khar-E,Santa Cruz-E ).Seven plots were encroached in the C (Crawford Market,Dhobi Talao) and MWest (Chembur,Govandi) wards.However,the most shocking encroachments were in R-South (Kandivli-E ) and P-North (Malad ).In Kandivli,three playgrounds,one recreation ground and a park,totally measuring 23,994 sq m,were fully encroached.
These were supposed to be OUR GREEN SPACES
BMC Blames Lack Of Funds For Not Developing Public Areas
Malad: One of the most startling finds of the CitiSpace survey of open spaces possessed by the BMC was in P-North Ward in Malad.There,four playgrounds and two recreation grounds,measuring a total of 23,471 sq m,were fully encroached.One of these plots,a playground,is in Malad (West),the rest are in the east.A seventh plot,a recreation ground measuring 3,080 sq m,was partially encroached.
The surveys findings are alarming in a city starved of open spaces.The DP envisioned half-an-acre of open space for every 1,000 people in the island city and 3 acres for every 1,000 people in the suburbs.But only 0.03 acres of open space is available for every 1,000 people.
The BMC has allowed these encroachments to come up over the years.Had the officials been more attentive and bothered,the open space problem wouldnt have been so grave today.Instead of giving out open spaces for maintenance to private players,the civic body should just acquire them,take care of them and rid them of encroachments.Thats the first step, said Nayana Kathpalia,co-convenor,CitiSpace.
Activists said that it was because of this very negligence and lackadaisical attitude of the BMC that they were forced to conduct the survey themselves.The genesis of the survey was in late 2007,when a mass movement against the BMCs controversial caretaker policy was launched.Then chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh ordered a stay on the policy after a public outcry.
According to the survey,the encroachments are varied and of all kinds.Slums,building projects,slum rehab projects,shops,businesses,teaching classes,gymnasiums and toilets are among the many encroachers.In A ward,a 70.25 sq m plot reserved for a playground at Dwarkadas Cross Lane,opposite Vijay Niwas Lodge,Fort,has been fully encroached by a printer,cycle repair shop,courier service,coaching classes,AC repair shop and photocopy centre.A 1,575 sq m plot at Bandstand,Bandra (West),has been encroached on by slums.
Additional municipal commissioner Aseem Gupta admitted that the city is facing large-scale encroachment of public spaces,but attributed this to a lack of resources to develop the open spaces as soon as they were demarcated.At some places,encroachments happened before the demarcation was made,so things were not in our hand then.But the new caretaker policy will take care of this matter,ensuring that Mumbai has a lot of open spaces and well see to it that they are not encroached upon, he said.
In the second phase of its survey,CitiSpace will look at the remaining plots earmarked as open spaces in the DP,including land held by private parties and government agencies. As of now,we have surveyed all open spaces belonging to and acquired by the BMC.In the second phase,we will survey and inspect all plots reserved as open spaces,those belonging to different government agencies and even private parties, said architect Parul Kumtha,coordinator,CitiSpace.Once that is in place,we will get the exact picture regarding open spaces in the city.