Ramesh wants 380-acre open space around Juhu heliport

The union environment ministry has asked the civic body to keep 380 acres of land in and around the Juhu aerodrome solely as a green open space and not construct any fancy park there.

The union environment ministry has asked the civic body to keep 380 acres of land in and around the Juhu aerodrome solely as a green open space and not construct any fancy park there.

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Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh had requested that the pollution-emitting strip at Juhu aerodrome, currently used as a heliport, compensate by keeping the space around it green and open.

On November 24, last year, he had written to chief minister Prithviraj Chavan to develop this area as a ‘wonder biodiversity hotspot’. The BMC initiated the de-reservation process in mid-February, but did not know what Ramesh had meant.

Ramesh said, “I meant the area around the airport be maintained as a green open space for this city starved of greenery.”