Mumbai is one of the most densely populated cities in the world and faces many challenges – from shrinking open spaces, rising pollution to serious climate change impact as a coastal city.
We, at NAGAR, (NGO Alliance For Governance Advocacy Renewal), have been advocating and championing the cause of open spaces in Mumbai to ensure a better quality of life for all citizens for over two decades.
As assembly elections approach us, we would like to draw the attention of voters and candidates towards some of the pressing issues that need to be addressed urgently.
We hope that when the new government is formed, these will be addressed by the successful candidate to help make Mumbai a better city.
Pollution: Urgent attention needed
Pollution – Despite having the sea, last year Mumbai had a worse AQI than Delhi on some days. The amount of dust owing to a huge amount of ongoing construction and poor management of the same, despite rules being in place, has led to worsening pollution levels.
The government and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) needs to address it urgently as winter sets in.
Open spaces and Mumbai
Open Spaces and inappropriate use of land (land grab) – We have been working on the issue of open spaces for over 20 years. We have noticed the BMC/the government tries to convert open space into something commercial such as underground parking. Before we restored Oval Maidan, the plan was to construct underground parking there.
Keeping open spaces permeable – It is extremely important to keep open spaces permeable. That means the space cannot be concretised as it then cannot absorb water. For example, at Churchgate where I live, it does not flood because the Oval maidan soaks up water. If underground parking plots are developed, they will necessarily mean concretising below the parks/ground for constructing these.. That will be a disaster and lead to waterlogging and flooding.
Lack of augmentation of open spaces – There is no proactive effort to acquire private spaces (notified) and make them into accessible open spaces for people despite a provision in the law. The population has increased manifold but open spaces are shrinking.
Mahalakshmi Race Course – Now that the BMC has acquired 120 acres of the Mahalakshmi Race Course, we would like to urge the government to keep it open. They need to clarify what they mean when they say “theme park,” is it a butterfly garden or will they plant indigenous trees or will it have stalls and construction activities? They have said it will be like Central Park in NYC. It needs to be open to all and kept free of any construction.
Read more: As Mumbai prepares to vote, a look at government promises vs performance
What Mumbai really needs
First, implementation of existing rules and regulations must be more strict and meticulous. We already have rules in place when it comes to handling construction debris, garbage, but when the BMC and government are building, they themselves do not follow them. We noticed that debris remained on the roads, over several days, during construction of Coastal Road but was managed very well in the Churchgate area when Metro III was being built. If the administration itself doesn’t follow rules, then how will the other builders?
Holistic planning for the city is also crucial. Despite having a development plan for the city, we notice that there are many continuing amendments and changes to that. It is important to have a holistic plan for the city that takes into account traffic, open spaces, access to water and parking and public transport.
BMC elections must be held at the earliest, so that people can approach the corporators in case of any problems. Shocking that an administrator is running the BMC for over two years!