Mumbai is often described as a city on steroids... Rise early, go to sleep late, work late hours, agonizing travel and cramped homes....
While as the financial capital of India, “no time to breathe” can be understood; but the severe shortage of open space & green areas in the city, leaves this city of 12.47 million gasping for clean air and almost “no space to breathe”
The appalling ratio of 0.03 acres of open space for every 1,000 persons is a far cry from London's 12 acres, New York's four acres and Singapore's six acres per 1,000 people.
A recent private study by a group of interested architects using the RTI threw up a distressing picture. The BMC who is supposed to be looking after these open places did not even know of the existence of almost 900 ear-marked places.
The team of architects managed to trace 2,116 plots reserved in Mumbai's Development Plan (DP) for various types of open spaces, including gardens and parks, recreation grounds (RG) and playgrounds (PG). While the BMC's open space policy records 2,398 reserved grounds in the city, the civic body has been claiming that only around 1,200 plots have been reserved for open spaces.
While as the financial capital of India, “no time to breathe” can be understood; but the severe shortage of open space & green areas in the city, leaves this city of 12.47 million gasping for clean air and almost “no space to breathe”
The appalling ratio of 0.03 acres of open space for every 1,000 persons is a far cry from London's 12 acres, New York's four acres and Singapore's six acres per 1,000 people.
A recent private study by a group of interested architects using the RTI threw up a distressing picture. The BMC who is supposed to be looking after these open places did not even know of the existence of almost 900 ear-marked places.
The team of architects managed to trace 2,116 plots reserved in Mumbai's Development Plan (DP) for various types of open spaces, including gardens and parks, recreation grounds (RG) and playgrounds (PG). While the BMC's open space policy records 2,398 reserved grounds in the city, the civic body has been claiming that only around 1,200 plots have been reserved for open spaces.
While many of the spaces have been encroached upon by slums and other fills, there are also a quite a few spaces that were handed over to private parties by the previous BMC chief.
The usual lame excuse of the BMC for handing over green spaces to clubs etc was that it did not have the necessary funds. The caretaker of a plot is allowed to commercially exploit 25% of an area above 50,000 sq ft, while making him pay for maintenance of the remaining 75%
The sad story is that often these “caretakers” literally become “takers with a care”, blocking access to the general public and charging club fees for those who would like to access the space.
Today we find many private groups putting up a fight to save their green spaces. The citizens’ groups argue that funds are more than enough. ‘We have made the calculations and it amounts to Rs103.4 crore for maintaining a total of 940 acres of open spaces in Mumbai. The budget allocation for the period 2010-11 can sufficiently cover this’, they argue.
Mumbai has 940 acres of open spaces. According to CitiSpace, an NGO fighting to save our open spaces , the upgrading and restoration of an acre of open space would involve approximately Rs 5 lakh as capital cost and monthly maintenance cost of Rs. 50,000. The cost for the first year will be Rs 11 lakh an acre. Therefore 940 acres will cost at least Rs. 103 crore for the first year and Rs. 56.5 crore annually thereafter, the NGO said.
The positive part is that for the first time we have a Civic chief who is unafraid to take on the builders lobby, who is not looking at personal gains, but in making a difference to Mumbai
His latest decisions with regards to the manipulations in the reality sector, has already started making a difference
Recently Mr Subodh was instrumental in returning a 3.5Acres plot in Juhu, from its caretaker after a strong local citizen protest !
If Mumbai has to sustain in the long run its position in the country as a premier city, it would have to prove that it is a city that also values its citizens right to Green and fresh air.
(also inputs from TOI)
The usual lame excuse of the BMC for handing over green spaces to clubs etc was that it did not have the necessary funds. The caretaker of a plot is allowed to commercially exploit 25% of an area above 50,000 sq ft, while making him pay for maintenance of the remaining 75%
The sad story is that often these “caretakers” literally become “takers with a care”, blocking access to the general public and charging club fees for those who would like to access the space.
Today we find many private groups putting up a fight to save their green spaces. The citizens’ groups argue that funds are more than enough. ‘We have made the calculations and it amounts to Rs103.4 crore for maintaining a total of 940 acres of open spaces in Mumbai. The budget allocation for the period 2010-11 can sufficiently cover this’, they argue.
Mumbai has 940 acres of open spaces. According to CitiSpace, an NGO fighting to save our open spaces , the upgrading and restoration of an acre of open space would involve approximately Rs 5 lakh as capital cost and monthly maintenance cost of Rs. 50,000. The cost for the first year will be Rs 11 lakh an acre. Therefore 940 acres will cost at least Rs. 103 crore for the first year and Rs. 56.5 crore annually thereafter, the NGO said.
The positive part is that for the first time we have a Civic chief who is unafraid to take on the builders lobby, who is not looking at personal gains, but in making a difference to Mumbai
His latest decisions with regards to the manipulations in the reality sector, has already started making a difference
Recently Mr Subodh was instrumental in returning a 3.5Acres plot in Juhu, from its caretaker after a strong local citizen protest !
If Mumbai has to sustain in the long run its position in the country as a premier city, it would have to prove that it is a city that also values its citizens right to Green and fresh air.
(also inputs from TOI)