Even as the Revised Draft Development Plan (RDDP) 2034 promises to double the availability of public open spaces (POS) per person, experts have alleged that the announcement will remain only on paper.
Moreover, RDDP’s proposition to carve out fresh, 25 per cent open spaces from non-development zones (NDZs), tourist development zones (TDZs), salt pans and the Mumbai Port Trust — as confirmed by officials — depends largely on the discretion of individual owners of land. Experts have pointed out that looking at the loopholes-ridden strategy of BMC to create breathing spaces for Mumbaikars, on-paper statistics lack the merit to offer the required change.
Meanwhile, MCGM officials claimed that Greater Mumbai had a fair cover of open spaces and if all varieties of open spaces in the city were added together, they would make up a significant area of 128.41 sq km or per capita open space availability of 10.32 sq m. However, as officials also confirmed large parts of these open spaces were not accessible, those could actually be counted as POS amounting to 15.37 sq km or per capita open space availability of 1.24 sq m.
The major issue was with the proposal to carve out 25 per cent POS from NDZs, TDZs, salt plans and Mumbai Port Trust land. Officials also confirmed that the policy was born out of dire need to create more POS; however, the decision depended on the discretion of MTDC, Mumbai Port Trust and state and central governments that owned the land.
“Reports have indicated that salt pan land, belonging to the government of India, can offer 2,177 hectare land for development. We are looking forward to creating an affordable housing scheme out of 3,000 hectare land for one million people. At the same time, for NDZs, TDZs and the Mumbai Port Trust, it depends on the discretion of individual bodies if they want to make the land available for POS. In case they refuse to do so, they continue to have development rights. It’s merely an appeal,” said Ramanth Jha, officer on special deputation (OSD), DP Revision. At one end, RDDP hails BARC, IIT, TISS and Mumbai University (Kalina) Campus land as lung spaces, officials said that these areas would be counted as POS even though they are not accessible to the general public at large. Mr Jha said, “Though the general public does not have access to these areas, staff and students of these particular organisations do use the vicinity as an open space. POS is essentially anything to which a sizeable number of people have access.”
