Environmentalist Darryl D'Monte of Bandra West Residents Association (BWRA) said the AMA will first take up the issues of the Coastal Road, Aarey Colony, overground Metro II and the new Development Plan (DP).
In what seems to be like taking a leaf out of politicians' book, citizen groups from across the city have decided to form a "coalition" to fight for the issues plaguing the city.
As of now 15 strong groups, representing citizens from various areas and working for several civic and social causes, have decided to join hands and form Apna Mumbai Abhiyan (AMA). They have even identified four key issues to begin with.
Environmentalist Darryl D'Monte of Bandra West Residents Association (BWRA) said the AMA will first take up the issues of the Coastal Road, Aarey Colony, overground Metro II and the new Development Plan (DP).
"We have been working on this idea since early this month. It was finalised just last week. In fact, this is for the first time in the city that such a coalition has been formed," said D'Monte, adding that apart from the 15 organisations that are already members, several others have shown keen interest.
Filmmaker and activist Ashoke Pandit said they aimed to "wake up" the state government through this coalition. "It is the beginning of the biggest movement witnessed by this city so far. With the help of AMA, we can put pressure on the government to involve the citizens in decision-making. Now no citizen group will be left alone to fight their issues locally. Everyone will come together and act as a pressure group," he said. Pandit added that they have identified key persons to take up specific issues, according to their strengths.
The first issue that the AMA members plan to raise immediately is that of the Coastal Road, which according to them is being constructed without final environmental clearance or a single public consultation.
"A meet has been scheduled for May 19, wherein speakers such as Pandit from AMA, former municipal commissioner DM Sukthankar and BWRA's D'Monte will address the media and discuss the Coastal Road," said a member.
Mangrove activist Harish Pandey, whose New Link Road Residents Forum (NLRRF) is a part of the AMA, said the problem was that every citizen group in the city was fighting all the big battles alone. "Only a handful of us were fighting to save almost 400 acres of mangroves from developers. The cops and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) took little interest. Now, imagine all the major citizen groups coming together for the cause. The authorities will be forced to take action," he said.
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