Mumbai DP : CM raps BMC, orders a new one
- 29th Apr 2015
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Putting an end to months of mud-slinging, charges and counter-charges between the BMC, concerned citizens, activists and politicians across parties, the state Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has now stepped into the ring and decided to scrap Mumbai’s controversial draft Development Plan (DP) 2034 altogether.
In his directive the CM has now asked the BMC to prepare a new DP sans the glaring errors in the first one, within four months and publish the revised draft for consideration by the government.
Interestingly, the decision to scrap the draft came just four days before the stipulated April 25 deadline for sending objections and suggestions. The state government on April 21 issued a directive to the BMC under Section 154 of the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning (MRTP) Act to carry out the revision exercise.
The earlier draft, had the entire city up in arms due to its glaring errors and some startling omissions, with the BMC facing the brunt of some 25,000 complaints and objections lodged against it.
Some of the most erroneous gems in the draft included the following:
- Mumbai's iconic Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (Prince of Wales Museum) has been shown as a medical facility and the place outside as part of a recreational ground.
- Jehangir Art gallery, another of Mumbai’s famous landmarks was shown as a veterinary hospital.
- A historic Church was shown as a commercial/residential land use zone.
- Gaothans were shown as slums. Mangroves, salt pans, no development zones were shown ready for development.
- Heritage areas were obliterated.
- In the suburbs, heritage structures like Bandra’s St. Andrews Church and Mount Mary Church have not been marked at all. Ironically, the former celebrates its 400th anniversary next year.
- St Stanislaus School in Bandra has been marked, but the church attached to it (St Peter's church) has not been shown.
- The famous Mount Mary steps that lead to the church and host a popular fair every year in September have been shown as a road.
- Bamanwada, a village near the airport, has been listed as Brahmanwada.
- Amboli, a locality in Andheri (West), is marked as Ambavali in the Ready Reckoner and Ambivli in the DP.
- Aksa, a village with a popular beach, is Akse in the Reckoner and Aakse in the DP.
- Marouli, a village in Chembur, is marked as Marvali in the Reckoner and Maravali in the plan. Asalpa, near Kurla, is Asalpe in the DP.
- A place known as Parjapur, near Andheri, is listed in the plan as Prajapur, which has a very different meaning.
- The DP has marked some villages, like Marol with its two Portuguese-era churches and architecture, as slums.
Among the many notable other (mis) hits of the draft DP which was released earlier this year on February 24 were a series of gaffes which included deleting approx 70 percent of the city’s heritage sties, proposing a high FSI without any notable open spaces or amenities and marking residential plots and even public parks as commercial-residential zones with non-existent roads randomly cutting through residential societies, educational institutions and other existing structures.
Several celebrities including popular actors like Salman Khan, Aamir Khan and Farhan Akhtar were among the many who joined MNS chief Raj Thackeray in denouncing the draft DP. While noted lyricist Javed Akhtar had termed the plan as a 'noose round the neck of the city'. Actor Aamir Khan had pointed out that Mumbai’s only surviving green lung Aarey Colony – which has over 2,000 hectares of forest cover – was listed as a ‘growth centre’ in the plan and not as a protected forest.
Also voicing their objections to the plan were a slew of the city's leading architects and town planners who had stated that the draft DP was completely irrelevant to the real needs and aspirations of the city’s populace and condemned the proposed increase in the Floor Space Index (FSI) which would have allowed developers to construct taller buildings within the city.
While the CM's decision ordering a new draft DP for Mumbai has been welcomed in most quarters, doubts remain whether BMC is upto the task of tabling a new draft in the allotted time of four months.
According to noted architect and activist PK Das, this was highly 'unlikely', since the corporation would first have to correct its flawed land-use plan by commissioning a fresh ground survey –a procedure that would take a minimum six months according to him.
Others like Nitin Kareer, principal secretary, urban development, however felt that the draft DP could not be scrapped altogether as it would create hurdles in saving several reservations, since the BMC would have to begin granting building permissions.
He further revealed that as per the new directive issued to the BMC, it would have to look at all errors, correct them and publish a revised draft DP within the next four months. On the day the revised draft is published, the present draft would then cease to exist and citizens would be given the mandatory period (of 60 days) to submit their objections and suggestions to the new draft.
Meanwhile the prolonged controversy over the draft DP has reportedly claimed its first victim with the current Municipal Commissioner of the BMC, Sitaram Kunte, who had come under heavy criticism for his 'inept' handling of the draft controversy being replaced by IAS officer Ajoy Mehta. The decision was taken by the CM just before leaving for his trip to Israel. Kunte will now take charge as the Principal Secretary of the Environmental department, a post held previously by Mehta.
Rajesh Kulkarni is a professional content writer and he writes on various contemporary topics.... read more
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