Mumbai: D ward’s plan to get lit tree invites criticism

Move to be taken as part of city beautification plan; activists say there should be uniformity across city

After colouring walls and replacing dividers, BMC’s D ward is now set to get an illuminated petal tree, LED planters, flexible light strips among other things as part of the Rs 1,700-crore city beautification drive. Civic officials said the ward office will decide on chowks or junctions to install the same. Activists, however, demanded that the BMC plan a uniform beautification policy for the city instead of focussing on one or two wards.

It is pertinent to note that D ward houses the top brass of the state, and most of the ministerial bungalows including that of the chief minister. Girgaon chowpatty and Kamala Nehru Park, two of the most popular places in the city, are also located in this ward.

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Anil Galgali, a civic activist, said, “The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation needs to frame a uniform policy. This project should be implemented in such a way that the entire city looks like one. If each ward implements a project the way they want, the city will look haphazard.” Godfrey Pimenta, another activist, agreed and said, “If the wards start planning the beautification separately, the city will look chaotic. The city should look unified.”

Activist Nikhil Desai, however, said, “The structure and needs of the city vary from ward to ward; so an uniform policy may be difficult. But this beautification project needs to be planned in such a way that the whole city gets an identity. Authorities should see that there is some parity. It should not happen that one ward is getting decorative lighting while another only gets painted walls.” 

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