51 open spaces in city are under private control

Over 50 parks, gardens, playgrounds and recreational grounds in Mumbai and its suburbs are under private control despite the absence of a set guideline, some controlled by politicians and former sportsmen. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation is currently in the process of creating a draft policy on open spaces, but activists fear that the policy will allow private parties to take control of Mumbai's remaining open spaces. A proposed bill by MLA Ashish Shelar demands that the BMC be in charge of maintaining open spaces to prevent commercial exploitation by private parties.

MUMBAI: As the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is in the process of formulating a draft policy on open spaces, it has surfaced that despite an absence of such a guideline, 51 parks, gardens, playgrounds (PG) and recreational grounds (RG) in Mumbai and its suburbs are under private control – some by politicians and former sportsmen.

HT Image

According to the garden department’s verified list, 11 of the 51 spaces are being controlled by private parties under the caretaker policy, 20 parks, gardens and playgrounds have been given away to private trusts under adoption and 20 more are with trusts for maintenance – all for a period of 11 months.

This has happened despite former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis scrapping the draft policy in 2016.

When Fadnavis stayed the draft policy, the civic body had floated an interim policy in August 2019, stating that parks and gardens could be given to third parties for 11 months. The move was opposed, following which BMC put the policy on hold.

Ravindra Waikar, an MLA from Shiv Sena (UBT), whose trust runs Matoshree Arts and Sports Trust Club on a playground given under caretaker policy in Jogeshwari, said that the policy was first floated in 1991 but was never implemented. “Despite that BMC’s improvements committee prepared guidelines stating 67 per cent of an open space should be kept free for public for two hours, while construction be allowed in the remaining area. This was the old caretaker policy and 13 clubs were given plots. Some managed to construct clubs, some didn’t. That’s when Matoshree Club was opened in 2000 along with other clubs.”

In the absence of implementation in the past, there was no agreement drawn up between the BMC and clubs. Many politicians are running the 11 clubs under the caretaker policy.

Activists fear that the policy, which is being formed now, will give a front door entry to private parties, and sound a death knell to Mumbai’s last remaining open spaces. While the BMC chooses to use terms such as ‘adoption’ and ‘caretaker’, activists have termed the new policy in the pipeline a ‘kidnap’ policy fearing that civic body surreptitiously plans to gift away Mumbai’s vital open spaces to private parties.

Nishant Mody, a citizen activist from Kandivali pointed to an ill-maintained RG in Thakur Complex, which has a joggers’ park and is run by a private trust given on adoption basis. “The ground given away by a politician has been in a shabby condition since last year. There were about 25-30 swings which have been removed. There were designated spaces for women to sit which does not exist now. Much of the green cover has also been compromised,” said Mody.

Activists and citizens first learnt about the controversial open space policy after MLA Ameet Satam wrote to CM Eknath Shinde in the first week of May about MP Gajanan Kirtikar’s meeting with the CM where the open space policy was discussed and that the final draft would be prepared by end of May.

Satam had stressed on the private members bill moved by MLA Ashish Shelar in state legislative assembly earlier last month,demanding that BMC be in-charge of maintaining open spaces, to prevent “commercial exploitation of open spaces by private parties”.

Satam had proposed that all open spaces be developed and maintained by BMC from its budget, cutting out private participation.

“Local ALMs, ward officers and resident associations should oversee if the spaces are being maintained according to the standards laid out. They should be the custodians of open spaces,” Satam had stated in his letter on May 6.

Ashwini Bhide, additional municipal commissioner, of BMC, remained unavailable to comment on when the policy will be finalised.