Soon, vertical gardens on Metro, Monorail pillars
After its plans to develop vertical gardens under 23 flyovers in the city, the Mumbai civic body will now join cities like Delhi and Bengaluru with its proposal to develop vertical gardens on Metro and Monorail pillars, and the pillars of flyovers maintained by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).
The civic body will first install rain-durable sheets against the pillars, along with stands to hold the plant pots. The civic body’s garden department will carry out the work. A proposal for this project will be tabled before the general body meeting this Thursday.
Last year, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) proposed to beautify 23 spaces under flyovers in the city, along with developing vertical gardens on its pillars. However, following the collapse of the Himalaya bridge near Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), it dropped the plans to develop vertical gardens on many old bridges, citing that this would cover any cracks that developed in the bridge and was hence dangerous.
However, a senior civic official from BMC said, “The purpose of developing such gardens is to increase green cover on our polluted roads, and beautify them. This is also making good use of the vertical space that is otherwise cement and concrete and hence not of any use.” A no-objection certificate will be required from the MMRDA for the work.