In new policy, hope for Mumbai’s green lungs

Ten-member committee with representatives of various agencies are working on a uniform policy for all open spaces in the city; report in three months.

In a boost for the development of its green lungs, the city could soon get its first uniform policy to protect and maintain open spaces, including playgrounds, mangroves and creeks.

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A 10-member committee commissioned by the government last year is currently devising draft guidelines for the policy, which will govern open spaces owned by all state agencies in the city. A state government resolution (GR) in November 2012 directed the formation of this special committee, which includes representatives from all development agencies in the city and independent experts.

The committee is tasked with studying policies of other states and international practices, to come up with a plan for Mumbai.

“We have made good progress so far. There would be a report with a strategy in the coming two months,” said Sitaram Kunte, chief of the Brihanumumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), who is chairing the committee.

The policy could give a much needed boost to the development of open spaces in the city, which is starved of open plots and recreational areas, owing to the lack of a comprehensive policy and inadequate efforts for their protection.

HT has been reporting on how the BMC’s lackadaisical approach towards acquiring plots reserved for open spaces might cause the city to lose out on these plots.

At present, different government agencies follow different policies for the management of open spaces.

Stressing the need for a uniform policy, citizen activists claimed the multiple government policies were leading to the misuse and ill-governance of open spaces. “The multiple policies relevant to open spaces is affecting their maintenance and protection. A uniform policy was long overdue,” said Nayana Kathpalia, who represents the NGO Citispace in the committee.

In the first few sessions, the committee members discussed the Existing Land Use survey and the classification of open spaces in it. “After years of actively fighting for open spaces, the formation of the committee is welcome, ” said environmentalist Debi Goenka from Conser-vation Action Trust, who is an invitee to the committee.