Plot in Marol transforms into urban forest, mercury drops

Mumbai's Ashish Shelar inaugurated a 3.5-acre urban forest in Marol, enhancing green spaces to reduce temperatures by 3-4°C and support biodiversity.

Mumbai: Mumbai suburban guardian minister and state IT and cultural affairs minister Ashish Shelar on Monday inaugurated the Mahatapasvi Acharya Shri Mahashramanji Garden, a 3.5-acre lush urban forest in Marol which barely had any trees two years ago.

Plot in Marol transforms into urban forest, mercury drops

“This garden is a model of how collaborative efforts can transform urban spaces into climate-resilient zones,” Shelar said at the inaugural event.

The minister underlined the importance of citizen participation in developing urban forest parks across Mumbai, saying such green spaces could reduce temperatures in the city by 3-4°C over the next five years.

The project to transform the plot – half of it was classified as a garden while the other half belonged to the Marol Cooperative Industrial Estate – was funded by the District Planning and Development Committee. It was executed jointly by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the industrial estate. The World Resources Institute (WRI) was the knowledge partner while the lead consultant was Studio Pipeelikaput, an architecture, urban design, and ecological landscaping firm.

Plantation work was undertaken on the plot in March 2024, said Neha Chavan, founder and proprietor of Studio Pipeelikaput. Her team identified native plant species from surrounding areas such as the Aarey forest, Sanjay Gandhi National Park (Borivali), and Ranibagh (Byculla) to ensure ecological relevance.

“We incorporated over 100 species in the garden, including six varieties of bamboo and fruit-bearing trees like mango, jackfruit, papaya, and banana to attract birdlife,” she told HT. Apart from a few old banyan and peepal trees, a mix of deciduous trees, grasses, shrubs, and medicinal herbs were also planted on the plot.

Around two months ago, when the plants had grown substantially, WRI’s team measured the temperature at various spots using ambient air thermometers. The findings were encouraging – while ambient air temperature in portions with dense tree cover was 32.7°C, in areas without any trees, it touched 36.6°C.

“Given that Marol is an industrial zone and a known urban heat island, the improvement in micro-climate owing to the green cover was significant,” she said.

The WRI also submitted scientific documentation to the BMC which confirmed that temperatures in forested patches had dropped by 2°C compared to the previous year, said Dr Prachi Jambhekar, deputy municipal commissioner and director of planning, who was present at the inaugural programme.

The programme was attended by local MLA Murji Patel and K East ward in-charge, assistant commissioner Nitin Shukla.

“This urban forest has been created right in the centre of an industrial area and temperatures have come down now. New birds and butterflies are seen here now, and the place is worth a visit,” Shukla told HT.