The civic improvements committee had cleared a proposal to acquire the plot but it was rejected by the BMC's general body on November 29.
In a city where open space is as hard to come by as green spaces for many, residents of the cramped central suburb of Kurla are set to get a garden of nearly 2,000 square metre, once an encroached plot is greened in the coming years.
But it comes at a cost. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation passed a controversial land acquisition proposal on Thursday that it would pay Rs 3.71 crore to the private owner and acquire this plot to develop a garden.
The 1,978 sq m plot, in the airport funnel zone (controlled airspace around an airport where high-rise buildings are banned for the safety of the aircraft) has been reserved under the 1991 city plan as a garden, but some 60 structures have since cropped up on it.
Earlier, the civic improvements committee had cleared a proposal to acquire the plot but it was rejected by the BMC's general body on November 29. After Opposition parties kicked up a fuss, the proposal of buying the land from the owner was passed.
"This is a victory for Opposition parties. We forced the ruling Shiv Sena to withdraw its decision. Now a plot will be added to the city's open space," said Opposition leader Ravi Raja, of the Congress party.
Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar, of the Sena, said, "We have always stood for open spaces and will never hand over any public plot."
The proposal was rejected after Sena corporator Bala Nar raised objections, saying that the ground had been encroached upon and also, it was under the funnel zone.
The proposal had already been cleared by the improvement committee.
On the plot stands the home of Shiv Sena corporator Dilip Lande, who is now the chairperson of the civic improvements committee.
The proposal was passed last year, before he was made the panel's head.
IN CITY'S HEART
- The 1,978 square metre plot in Kurla is in the airport funnel zone
- It has been reserved under the 1991 development plan as a garden, but some 60 structures have since cropped up on it.
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