Senior state government officials said the proposed textile museum at Kalachowkie in central Mumbai is part of this larger project. The restoration of the historic, landmark Royal Opera House near Chowpatty is also underway.
Restoration of the heavily encroached, pre-colonial-era Mahim fort, a cleaned up and beautified Banganga tank at Walkeshwar, pedestrian walkways at Ballard Estate and development of open spaces in the island city and western suburbs.
In an open space-starved Mumbai where parents are forced to take their children to malls on the weekends as there are not enough playgrounds, these are some initiatives that may translate into a much-needed change on the ground this new year. The state government is on the way to launch a comprehensive plan to develop places of tourist attraction in the city.
Senior state government officials said the proposed textile museum at Kalachowkie in central Mumbai is part of this larger project. The restoration of the historic, landmark Royal Opera House near Chowpatty is also underway.
"The chief minister has expressed his desire to develop open spaces for the use of citizens," an official from the chief minister's office (CMO) told dna, adding that encroachers squatting on these open spaces would be resettled and sites with historic value would be restored.
"A high-level team consisting of officials from the CMO, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), police, public works department (PWD), urban development department and others will be established to oversee the implementation," he said. The chief minister's officer on special duty (OSD), Kaustubh Dhavse, will also be a part of the effort.
"In 2016, we plan to kick off work on the Mahim fort project by getting the encroachers out and beginning the restoration process. Work on the textile museum is also expected to start this year," the official said, adding that other sites would also be taken up gradually.
"Our city is starved of open spaces," noted conservation architect and historic building consultant Abha Narain Lambah, adding that the Mahim fort was located strategically on a sea face yet faced civic neglect, being surrounded by slums instead of being developed as a tourist site, as would have been done globally.
The Mahim fort is a part of a "string of forts" including the Bandra and Worli forts on the western seaboard that motorists have to pass when they travel across the Bandra-Worli sea link (BWSL), though few know of their existence in an increasingly built up city.
Lambah added a state government protected monument such as Banganga also had dwelling units on the two ends of the steps leading to the tank, which is located at Walkeshwar, and is believed to be dating back to the Ramayana era.
"We must actively pursue the restoration of open spaces. Otherwise, they will be lost to encroachers or vested interests," she warned, adding that a multi-pronged approach across departments was needed.
Mumbai has 1,052 open spaces, of which 186 are under adoption, over 700 have been developed and 160 are being taken up by BMC's garden department. According to BMC officials, with 2,968 hectares of open spaces, Mumbai has per capita open spaces of 2.48 sq meters, which is lower than most global cities such as New York. This figure dwindles further to 0.88 sq meters in some areas, since most open spaces are built upon, not in use, or allow only restricted entry.
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