Corporators slam BMC proposal

Corporators cutting across all parties have given thumbs down to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s smart city proposal, which involves area-based development of Lower Parel. Slamming the proposal, they have alleged that it is aimed only at boosting the real estate prices of the Central Mumbai area and not for the development of the entire city.

The smart city proposal was tabled before the civic standing committee for approval on Friday, as the BMC intends to send it to state government on November 30. The state government would then send it to the Centre, which will select cities for its smart city project after scrutinising city proposals.

The BMC plans to start the project implementation from Lower Parel, stating that it has got several advantages. Lower Parel is one of the only areas in the city that has five suburban railway stations — Lower Parel, Elphinstone Road, Curry Road, Chinkpokli and Mahalaxmi, at a close proximity.

However, BJP group leader Manoj Kotak said that the proposal is related to only one particular area and potential from other parts of the city were not taken into consideration. It means most of the amenities to be provided under this project will be given only for selected areas, he added.

Samajwadi Party group leader Rais Shaikh alleged that the proposal is to boost real estate prices in Lower Parel, which has already seen construction boom in recent years.

“The BMC should have selected deprived areas for the smart city project. Developing certain areas would result in a lop-sided development of the city,” he said.

“The BMC has failed to think out-of-the-box while preparing its proposal for smart city,” said MNS group leader Sandeep Deshpande. “Uninterrupted water supply, better roads, zero garbage, transport mobility are all basic needs of citizens. Instead the BMC has accommodated them in its smart city proposal. Where is BMC’s smartness in this With this kind of proposal, there is every possibility that we will even qualify for the project,” he said.

Also, Congress corporator Asif Zakaria stressed on the need of holistic approach from the BMC in making the smart city proposal. “There should have been efforts to involve citizens and people’s representatives by holding the workshops. But the civic body failed miserably in this regard,” he said.

However, additional municipal commissioner S.V.R. Srinivas defended the selection of Lower Parel saying it was done on the directives that they had received from the Centre.

“Under this project, the Centre had asked to select an area for area-based development. Lower Parel was selected for its several demographic advantages,” he said.