Mumbai's last green lungs to be developed

While the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has lived up to its promise of increasing the per capita open space, its focus has shifted from 'green city', the draft development plan for 2014-2034 reveals.

In its DP, the civic body has planned to develop the city's last remaining green lung, the Aarey Milk Colony.

The draft DP mentions that the Aarey Colony area can offer new economic growth and scope for augmenting the institutional and public amenities requirements of the suburbs.

The move has not gone down well with city environmentalists. Even before the DP's unveiling, on Sunday, about 400 volunteers had come together to protest against the Metro III car shed project coming up at Aarey Milk Colony.

The proposed car shed site consists of grasslands, marshy wetlands and 2,298 trees, which have been marked for cutting or transplant.

"The government of Maharashtra is completely misleading people. You don't need physical area for development," environmentalist Rishi Aggarwal said.

"The Aarey area has tremendous potential to regulate the area's temperature. Moreover, it has a beautiful heritage and many people visit it from different parts of the city. We will object to the decision."

BJP group leader in the BMC Manoj Kotak said, "We will ensure that the ecological balance of the area is not lost to development. Even today, Aarey has cow sheds, which will have to be changed. So, the area has been proposed for development."