Breach Candy residents draw up plan for a forest on Coastal Road open space

CRF on Saturday organised an online townhall for all Breach Candy residents to inform them about the plan it had come up with and invite further suggestions

MUMBAI: It’s not often that you get 87 acres of brand-new green space fashioned in your neighbourhood, especially in a city like Mumbai. So when former municipal commissioner Iqbal S Chahal approached Breach Candy residents about the reclaimed spaces of the Coastal Road now ripe for designing, they got to work.

There already is, the residents pointed out, a forested space at Amarsons Garden; this would be an extension of it.

“If we want to have any say in how the green spaces on our stretch are going to be, this is the time to send in our suggestions,” said a member of the Breach Candy Residents Forum (BCRF). The BMC’s initial landscaping plan of the green spaces, to be done by consulting firm AECOM, was released on March 14.

BCRF on Saturday organised an online townhall for all Breach Candy residents to inform them about the plan it had come up with and invite further suggestions. The final plan will then be sent formally to the BMC tentatively on August 10, in time for the tendering for the green spaces scheduled for September.

“Our idea is to suggest a forest in the spaces that will open up as opposed to recreational spaces which will attract too many people,” said one forum member who did not want to be individually quoted till the plans were formally charted. “We are thinking of something akin to a ‘sacred grove’ or communally protected forest fragments in worship of Nature.”

There already is, the residents pointed out, a forested space at Amarsons Garden; this would be an extension of it. The plan depicts a gradient forest that begins with a dense wooded area at the extremity that borders the residential buildings in order to maintain their seclusion and privacy. It then moves to sparse trees with lots of foliage, followed by trees with shrubs and gradually opens up towards the side of the promenade with palm trees. “There can be space in between for activities, for people to walk, take their dogs along and have meditation and yoga sessions,” said the resident. “But there shouldn’t be hard or impermeable surfaces.”

Climate change, bringing with it rising temperatures and flooding, was a prime concern, prompting BCRF to consult climate change experts, environmentalists and city activists. It was thus that a forest was decided as the best bet for the area, to act as a green lung, cool down temperatures, control flooding, improve air quality and buffer noise pollution. It was decided that the trees planted should be native to the region such as almond, banyan, neem, amla, coconut and Bael.

The residents were particular that the green spaces should not be a magnet for a fresh wave of footfalls at their doorstep. Hence, the townhall began with talking about the characteristics of the area: that it was mainly residential with 450 residential buildings. They listed the commercial spaces: the two hospitals, seven schools and 12 temples that populate the stretch, attracting traffic and a floating population. They pointed out that the area was low-lying and thus prone to flooding; that it housed the Coastal Road interchange and would eventually have the upcoming underground 250-car park; and that the two-km stretch could take 20 minutes to cross due to these factors.

The townhall also discussed security concerns—they said that while the promenade cannot be closed off to the public, the green spaces should have time constraints, thus necessitating access points and boundary walls. Too many access points, they pointed out, would cause traffic bottlenecks with visitors embarking and disembarking from vehicles.

After collating the suggestions that poured in from the 50-odd attendees of the townhall, BCRF will submit the final suggestions to the BMC. Wanting to keep the process collaborative, they will then hold another townhall with all stakeholders, including the BMC, to hear their response.

“We will suggest that three honorary members work with the BMC at the planning stage for the green spaces,” said a member. “After the green spaces come up, there should be three custodians to look after their maintenance.”