BJP set to reopen RGPG policy

BMC house had passed the controversial policy despite strong opposition

After chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had asked the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) chief Ajoy Mehta to review the recreational ground playground (RGPG) policy, which was passed in the BMC house on Wednesday, the BJP will now reopen the policy and the same will be presented in the house after three months following a procedural review of the policy. The BMC will start the process of taking over more than 200 open plots and also issue notices to all the trusts whose agreements have expired and are not anymore entitled to occupy the open spaces.

The BMC house had passed the controversial RGPG policy despite strong opposition by the civic activists and citizen groups. Under the policy, which was passed on Wednesday, the open spaces were to be allotted only on adoption basis to private parties. However, it was opposed citing that the BMC should itself maintain the open spaces in the city.

“We have written a letter to the BMC and requested that the policy, which was passed on Wednesday, should not be implemented considering the fact that it has received negative remarks from the public. We have requested that the policy should be reopened and there should be proper debate and discussion with all the stakeholders about the open space policy and later after a common transparent policy is drafted the same could be implemented,” said Ameet Satam, BJP MLA.

A BJP delegation on Friday had met Mr Fadnavis and asked him to reconsider the policy to save the city grounds and gardens from being handed over to the hands of private parties.

Changing its earlier stand on the RGPG policy, BJP group leader in BMC, Manoj Kotak, said, “We had discussed in the house on Wednesday about referring back before passing RGPG policy. But it was the Shiv Sena and Congress, which wanted the policy to be passed. Now after the chief minister’s order, our alliance partner Shiv Sena has agreed about reopening the policy again and the same will be discussed in the agenda of the house after three months. Till then the BMC will complete all its procedural review procedure and we will complete the political review and also discuss the same with the common public.”