B-school offers students to help with land use survey scrutiny
Citizens' groups verifying land use classifications have welcomed help as they have to submit findings to BMC by Jan 12.
As citizens scramble to complete their scrutiny of the civic body's existing land use (ELU) survey and submit their observations and suggestions by January 12, a city business school has offered its students as volunteers to assist Mumbaiites with the exercise. Several citizens' groups have welcomed the offer.
The Centre for Management, a city-based business institute that has centres in Andheri and Bandra, has offered 30 students, who can help citizens in various tasks, right from the actual land use scrutiny to submitting their findings to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
Maya Shahani, chairperson of the school who announced the offer for help at a public meeting held to improve awareness about the ELU survey, said: "We believe that our students should have a social commitment from an early age. Having a fool-proof development plan is a critical matter for the city, so we will be glad to have our students assist groups in their scrutiny."
HT has published a series of reports on the flaws in the ELU survey, which was conducted by a BMC-appointed consultant. As the ELU has classified land use and will form the basis for the city's new development plan, if the flaws go through the city's development for the next 20 years will be affected.
Following the reports in HT, the BMC agreed to permit public scrutiny of the ELU maps and gave citizens a month to submit their independent findings, starting December 12.
Figures from the Urban Design Research Institute, which detected 1,200 flaws in the ELU, more than 500 community building organisations and 100 citizens' groups are involved in raising awareness about the DP.
Shahani said citizens' bodies can contact the centre directly for student volunteers.
Ashok Rawat, an activist from G-north ward federation, said: "We will be glad to have two students assisting us in articulating and presenting the findings to the BMC."
(To get in touch, visit www.centreformanagement.com)