You can soon locate parks, gardens around you on BMC app

Looking for a public park or garden near you? You can soon locate green spaces maintained by the civic body, their timings and amenities available on the MCGM24X7

Looking for a public park or garden near you? You can soon locate green spaces maintained by the civic body, their timings and amenities available on the MCGM24X7 mobile application.

HT Image

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is also in the process of drafting a policy for the maintenance of its 1,068 gardens and playgrounds. Ashutosh Salil, joint municipal commissioner, BMC, said, “We have received around 300 suggestions for drafting our policy on gardens and playground maintenance. We will incorporate these into our draft policy. We are planning to put up all information on gardens and playgrounds on the app, so that citizens are well informed about green cover around them.”

Salil said the suggestions by citizens were quite extensive. “Some citizens want the timings of gardens to be extended. Many want pets to be allowed in gardens. We will consider all this, and draft a policy, and again call for suggestions and objections,” said Salil. The policy is also likely to allow NGOs or housing societies to operate and maintain green spaces under the civic body. However, such a plan has been opposed in the past.

The civic body has been drawing flak over timings of gardens in the city. After being criticised for keeping gardens open for six to seven hours in the day, the BMC had decided to keep gardens open for 12 hours.

Nikhil Desai, a Matunga resident and an activist, said the timings should be citizen-friendly. “Most gardens shut by 7pm or 8pm. Why should there be these restrictions in Mumbai, where people barely reach their homes from work by 8pm? Also, the gardens should not be given to any third party for maintenance. The BMC has enough money to maintain the gardens,” he said.