In a relief to Mumbaikars, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said the state would protect green spaces in the city and were looking at alternatives for the Metro rail car shed proposed at Aarey Milk Colony, which would otherwise eat into the green cover.
In a relief to Mumbaikars, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said the state would protect green spaces in the city and were looking at alternatives for the Metro rail car shed proposed at Aarey Milk Colony, which would otherwise eat into the green cover.
"The city has a right to decide on what it wants," said Fadnavis in the state legislative assembly on Thursday, adding that the draft development plan for Mumbai needed to take care of the interests of the Maharashtrians and the green spaces in the city. The BMC would take a decision on this, and in case of any problems, the state government would make the necessary changes when the plan came to them.
The BMC's draft development plan for 2034 has raised hackles by proposing fresh development and a business hub in the Aarey Milk Colony in Goregaon and a steep rise in the FSI.
"It is necessary to understand at which stage Mumbai's development plan (DP) is," said Fadnavis, adding that it was prepared by the civic administration and put before the municipal corporation. Next, the general body would invite suggestions and objections and the civic body would decide on them and again table it before the general body, which would send it to the state government whose screening committee will decide on it before the state grants its final approval.
Fadnavis said they had set up a committee to decide on alternatives for the Metro III car shed. "Our clear opinion is that green spaces must be saved wherever it is possible," he added, noting that the proportion of such green spaces in Mumbai was already low.
Fadnavis admitted that the quantum of encroachments like illegal slums and shops in the Aarey Milk Colony was already high and that if this was not stopped, the green space would exist only on the maps while the ground reality would be different.
Noting that 777 families in 28 buildings, most of whom are Maharashtrians, were likely to be impacted by the construction of the third Metro line from Colaba to Bandra and SEEPZ, Fadnavis said they would be rehabilitated in situ. These structures are located in the Maharashtrian heartland of Girgaum-Thakurdwar.
"As long as the BJP-Shiv Sena are in power, the government is with the Marathi manoos," said Fadnavis, adding that they would develop the stations through densification and use the available space to rehabilitate these families in much better houses. He assured that these people would not have to move elsewhere.
Fadnavis also stressed on the need for a strong public transport system in Mumbai as a solution to the city's traffic woes.
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