City: Mumbai

2023 has arrived and with it, hopeful Mumbaikars are looking forward to some of the key infrastructure projects opening to the public this year. Surrounded by barricades in all parts of the city for the past five years, at least a few of these barricades will be pulled down and new modes and alternatives of transport and commuting will be thrown open to the public. These promise to change the face of Mumbai, and most likely, they will! The Trans-Harbour Link, metro lines 2A & 7, the underground metro line 3, the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road extension, and the coastal road…

On February 4th, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) presented a budget of Rs 52,619.07 crore for the year 2023-24. This marked a significant moment in the city's history, as Commissioner IS Chahal, serving as an administrator in the absence of an elected council, drafted and then presented and approved the budget. The BMC had earlier invited suggestions on the budget from the public. Chahal told the press that municipal corporation had received 965 suggestions "many of which were incorporated in the budget". Read more: BMC budget wishlist, from various experts in their field He said, "For example, we have allotted Rs…

With each passing year, the government owes private schools the reimbursements for students taken in free of cost under the Right to Education (RTE) Act. The amount has racked up to around a crore for some schools, with several school associations alleging Rs 1,200 crore is due in total. “Last year, we received the RTE reimbursement for the academic years 2016-17 and 2017-18,” says Anushka Pradhan, head of primary at Gyan Kendra school in Andheri. The school takes in 52 new students from financially and socially weaker backgrounds with the promise of a free education till the eighth grade every…

The term of the municipal councillors of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), India's richest civic body, came to an end in March 2022. With elections delayed, control of the corporation fell into the hands of Commissioner IS Chahal. With him at the helm, BMC had its second administrator in decades. It has been nearly a year now since the elections have not been held and Chahal continues to run the corporation without a body of public representatives or a mayor. This meant that the municipal commissioner not only drafted the 2023-2024 civic budget but also personally presented and approved it…

Kala Ghoda Arts Festival returns The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival (KGAF) returns on February 3rd, when the streets of Kala Ghoda will be turned into workshop spaces, theatres, and dance stages. Restaurants in the area will also be showcasing curated menus for the occasion. Earlier art installation at the festival. Pic: Indu Harikumar, Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0) The popular nine-day festival, founded in 1999, draws visitors from Mumbai and around the world. It showcases multicultural arts, crafts, urban design and architecture events and is considered as one of India's largest street art festivals. Kala Ghoda, in south of Mumbai, is…

After the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) put out an open call on Twitter for suggestions on the upcoming BMC budget, over 1,000 responses poured in. Citizens, by virtue of their lived experience, have plenty to ask from the budget of the municipality, expected to be released today (February 4th) and likely to entail allocations of over Rs 45000 crore. As the city's most popular and effective citizen welfare and grievance redressal forum, we at Mumbai North Central District Forum (MNCDF) too have a list of demands from the municipality. Our network of 110 members come from different walks and areas…

On January 18th, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) asked people for their suggestions on the municipal budget, a step towards the making of a democratic participatory budget. And while there have been criticisms of the timing and structure of the call, many have responded. Below are a few suggestions from a few citizens, some of whom are experts in their fields. Rini Annie Cherian, program coordinator at Praja Foundation The 2022-23 BMC budget speech had made some progressive proposals for infrastructure and environmental rehabilitation of various locations in the city, but fell short in carrying forward the proposed plans of…

We live in Shivaji Nagar, which is part of Govandi, a heavily populated neighbourhood. We have always known that there is toilet scarcity here. After participating in a survey, we realised the situation is far more problematic than the lack of toilets. There is a total of 152 toilets, of which 27 are in the peripheral area, and the remaining 125 toilets are located in the site and services plots. However, only 96 toilets out of the total are functioning, and that is a major issue for us. This study also showed us many other problems we never knew about…

A major urban planning course correction is underway in Mumbai in the form of the redevelopment of the Bombay Development Directorate (BDD) chawls. While the large-scale redevelopment of the decaying century-old chawls is imminent, there are concerns about the plans to rehouse the 15,593 families living in 195 three-storey chawls spread across 86.98 acres in Worli, N.M. Joshi Marg and Naigaum in Central Mumbai. Though these families have been promised 500 sq ft housing units - two bedrooms, a hall and a kitchen - in skyscrapers, planners are sceptical about the development model chosen for them. The Worli residents will…

Water crunch for half of Mumbai on Jan 30 and 31st Due to the connection of a new 4,000 mm diameter channel to the water treatment plant in Bhandup and other repair works, several parts of Mumbai will face water cuts or reductions between January 30th and 31st. Wards that will receive no water for the 24 hours from 10 am on January 30th are: H/East (Bandra East), H/West (Bandra West), K/East (Andheri East), K/West (Andheri West), P/North (Malad), P/South (Goregaon), R/North (Dahisar), R/South (Kandivali, Charkop and Poisar), R/Central (Borivai), N (Gatkopar), L (Kurla) and the west side of S…