The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has drawn activists' ire for setting up an ‘unreal’ goal of providing 2.25 square metres of open space per person in the new development plan of the city. However, civic authorities say that the decision to arrive at the figure was a calculated move. Gardens, open spaces and recreation grounds reservation in the draft DP, as well as opening up a huge chunk of the city to people, currently occupied by mangroves and the SNGP at present, will go a long way to ensure that residents get the promised per capita open space, officials from the BMC said.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has drawn activists' ire for setting up an ‘unreal’ goal of providing 2.25 square metres of open space per person in the new development plan of the city. However, civic authorities say that the decision to arrive at the figure was a calculated move. Gardens, open spaces and recreation grounds reservation in the draft DP, as well as opening up a huge chunk of the city to people, currently occupied by mangroves and the SNGP at present, will go a long way to ensure that residents get the promised per capita open space, officials from the BMC said.
The existing land use survey pegs the figure at 1.24 square metre per person. Civic authorities say that of the total 450 square kms area of the city, only about 140 square kms is the buildable area.
A senior civic official from the DP department said: “It took a herculean effort to bring up the per capita open space to 2.25 sq mtrs from the current 1.24.”
But how will the civic body generate even the additional 1 square metre per capita open space as promised in the draft DP?
As per civic officials, they have imposed several reservations in the form of gardens and recreational spaces. “Even developers will have to compulsorily give away a part of their plots for public amenities, which will focus on recreation spaces among other amenities,” informed the DP official.
In the development control regulations of 1991, only parking was permitted under open spaces. However, in the draft DP 2034, electric substations, storage of harvested rain water and sewerage treatment plants will be permitted below open spaces.
The BMC also has another plan in mind for the purpose.
Municipal commissioner Sitaram Kunte told dna: “Almost 310 square metre of open spaces in the city are inaccessible to the public, because either mangroves dominate those areas, or the SNGP, which requires certain entry permissions. We are contemplating setting up board walks in these mangrove areas without damaging them, so that people can utilise this space.”
An official said: “In a space-starved city like Mumbai, it wasn’t possible to allocate more per capita open space, or else half the city’s buildable area would have gone while catering to the 14 million population the city expects to reach by 2034.” He also said that the FSI of buildings in such a situation would have to be increased to an astronomical level.
Santa Cruz-based activist Jason Fernandes welcomed the move, saying: “The problem with open spaces and gardens is that they end up being encroached by slums and illegal constructions. If they can be kept at bay, half of the open spaces problem will be solved.
Reasons for puncturing city's green lungs
While environmentalists have strongly objected to the BMC’s plan of developing the Aarey colony area, fearing destruction of the last surviving green lungs of the city, civic authorities say they have their reasons. Municipal commissioner Sitaram Kunte, gave the instance of Delhi, saying that there, institutional land is available, and the government has parcels of land to set up institutions. “For example, if we have to set up an institute like the IIM, we do not have land for that at present. We are trying to use Aarey Colony as institutional land. Most of such campuses are green ones,” he said.
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