Let’s not nullify efforts to make city more green

15 March,2023 05:26 AM IST |  Mumbai  |  The Editorial

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will spend Rs 5.36 crore to develop these parks and the work will begin soon

All illegal structures at Gandhi Maidan have been removed, thanks to the efforts of local residents and activists


The congested L ward will get slightly greener as a reserved plot at Sangharsh Nagar in Chandivli will be converted into a park, while Gandhi Maidan in Kurla West, which had seen much encroachment, will also be spruced up. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will spend Rs 5.36 crore to develop these parks and the work will begin soon.

In a report on Patwardhan Park in Bandra West, currently in the eye of a storm because the BMC plans to construct a parking lot underneath the space, there was one comment that stood out. A person stated that while the city is making a Metro network, with an aim to reduce the number of cars on the road, the civic authorities want to create parking lots. Therein lies the contradiction.

While the Metro and civic authorities are different, overall, it is Mumbai city and we do see some conflicting decisions. Here, for instance, the BMC wants to create parks. Yet, one established park in Bandra will be adversely affected if the parking underneath the ‘park' scheme goes ahead.

Also Read: Make every under-construction structure safe

The civic authorities are also trying their level best to make the city green; we have recent news snippets about a rudraksha tree fruiting in a Worli BMC garden. This newspaper has also highlighted how the BMC and an organisation opened an open-air reading room at a Dahisar Garden recently. There are several such examples which show a real aesthetic push for the metropolis. There has also been a substantial effort towards creating Miyawaki forests, which are densely packed trees in a small space.

When so much is being done towards greening, such schemes tend to cancel out the good work. While one does acknowledge the many challenges that BMC and other agencies face, let us see real will in not touching our parks. Otherwise, it becomes a case of giving with one hand, and taking away with the other.

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