Mumbai
Citizen groups AGNI and NAGAR, who are at the forefront of the remonstration, have appealed citizens to come forward and register their opposition before the April 24 deadline for submitting objections.
Updated : Apr 18, 2015, 06:20 AM IST
This Sunday, the city will raise its voice as one against the error-riddled draft Development Plan (DP) and the list of hawking zones, by taking to the streets in large numbers. Citizen groups AGNI and NAGAR, who are at the forefront of the remonstration, have appealed citizens to come forward and register their opposition before the April 24 deadline for submitting objections.
Residents are irked at civic authorities' acute myopia, and believe the DP's flagrant errors are a result of a gross lack of knowledge on the part of the civic officials. They also suspect that the DP is driven and dictated by developers: the FSI in prime areas is given only to benefit big developers, they feel, while there is no mention of slums and old buildings.
Citizen activists were disgruntled at the way the state government has treated the DP. "Development Plan is a common plan for the city. which involves all the agencies and stakeholders. It is not just BMC's plan. But here in the draft DP, BMC has mentioned several parcels of land as belonging to MMRDA, MbPT, Railways, etc. Why cannot they mention specific reservations, amenities or any new developments taking in confidence the details of all agencies together?" demanded a civic activist, adding that the DP is all about town planning and not passing the buck on to other agencies.
"The municipality and state government have taken decisions that imperil every nook and corner of our city. If enacted, they will change Mumbai's character and quality of life forever. It is an anti-citizen, error-filled Draft Development plan 2014-2034, and an ill-conceived hawking policy. Only citizen action can defeat them. And AGNI and NAGAR have the citywide base to help mount the action. The DP is a visionless document spanning the next 20 years, as it ignores slums and allows invasion of Aarey with concrete. It provides no affordable housing anywhere, and disappears scores of open spaces. The hawker policy denies us our pavements and plant hucksters in areas where none existed before ," reads a joint announcement by both the citizen groups.
"It's now or never," said Nikhil Desai, AGNI coordinator from F-North ward. "We are expecting 800 citizens to join the protest. Residents of Hindu Colony, Parsi Colony, Matunga and surrounding areas will take to the streets out in large numbers. People from Parsi Colony are petrified hearing about the irrational DP reservations and changes, as well as the hawkers' zone. Imagine the FSI of 8 given near Dadar station! Where is the infrastructure in Dadar that will take the load of such an explosion of real estate? All the sewerage, storm water drains (SWD), water lines are a century-old and keep on bursting every now and then."
Jennifer Shetty, pointsperson in South Mumbai, said the citizens are horrified at the glaring glitches that fill the draft DP. "People are also unhappy about hawker zones. With an extra-high FSI, the city will get further congested. This cannot be allowed," said Shetty.
Agitation zones
If you want to join the protest slated for Sunday, 5pm, the venues are:
H-West Ward – Carter Road Promenade, Opposite Landmark (Contact Lillian Pais on 9920663748)
F-North Ward – Five Gardens (Contact Nikhil Desai on 9819930405)
A Ward – CPRA Greens, Cuffe Parade (Contact Jennifer on 9223415069)
G-North – Shivaji Park, behind Scout Pavilion (Contact Bulu Saldanha on 9920323831)
K-West – St Joseph School Grounds, Juhu (Contact Zahida Banatwalla on 9820790749)
R-North – I C Colony, Borivli (Contact Willie Shirsat on 9820213392)
M-East & M-West – Diamond Garden (Contact Raj Kumar Sharma on 9820989310)