BMC gives planning committee time till January 15 to hear objections to Development Plan

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)’s general body on Tuesday passed the Shiv Sena’s proposal to grant the Development Plan (DP) 2034 planning committee time till January 15 to hear the objections and suggestions submitted by citizens.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)’s general body on Tuesday passed the Shiv Sena’s proposal to grant the Development Plan (DP) 2034 planning committee time till January 15 to hear the objections and suggestions submitted by citizens. The proposal will now go to the state government for approval.

The original deadline for the committee was November 26. (HT Photo for Representation)

On Tuesday, the general body had a discussion on passing a proposal to extend the committee’s time-period till December 31. Sena leader Yashodhar Phanse, who is also a member of the planning committee, mooted an amendment for a further extension till January 15, which was passed with a majority.

The original deadline for the committee was November 26. The planning committee is crucial as it is currently hearing 84,000 objections filed by citizens, NGOs, politicians and organisations on the plan. It comprises of two Sena corporators, a BJP corporator and three experts appointed by the state government. The two-decade-long blueprint for the city was released in May with a two-month window for citizens to send their suggestions and objections.

Phanse said, “We have been facing criticism that we have not given adequate time to citizens so we sought an extension till January 15.”

On Friday, HT had reported that citizen groups like Urban Design Research Institute (UDRI) and Hamara Shehar Mumbai Abhiyaan (HSMA) had written to civic chief Ajoy Mehta and chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to extend the hearings as citizens were not given adequate time. The committee, in its schedule, has listed to hear more than 10,000 citizen objections in just 21 days. Municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta said, “We will now be writing to the state government to extend the time till January 15.”

Opposition parties slammed Sena stating that it cannot ask for an extension as it is responsible for the delay. Pravin Chheda, opposition leader and Congress corporator said, “Sena is responsible for delaying the hearings. How can they keep postponing decisions and ask for extensions?” HE added, “As a trustee of the corporation, this the least we can expect.”