SoBo locals, BMC lock horns over land use

Mumbai: A group of south Mumbai residents is at loggerheads with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) over usage of reclaimed land for the Coastal Road project.

City residents posted a graphic on their social media account titled “Save Our Coast” stating that the civic body will use 56 hectares of reclaimed land for public amenities and that it is lying about having 70 hectares of open space. However, the BMC Thursday issued a statement clarifying that the graphic circulated on social media by the residents’ group was false, misguiding and posted with the intent of causing mischief. The BMC made it clear that the reclaimed land would be used only for BRTS, police chowky and sub-station for power supply, and urged citizens not to believe in rumours.

City activists however are further peeved.

They claimed that the BMC had removed a letter from its website written to the ministry of environment and forests in 2017 explaining column-wise usage of reclaimed land.

Activist Zoru Bathena said, “Whatever points included in the graphic we made were only through that letter. Does the BMC now say that the information given by them to the MoEF was false? Since the beginning, the BMC wants to construct on reclaimed land in the name of open space.”

The BMC has proposed reclaiming 90 hectares of land for the project, of which 70 hectares will be green space, it claims.