Eight responses for Mumbai Development Plan 2034

The second part of the city’s draft Development Plan (DP) 2034, which was made public in October, seems to be getting a lukewarm response compared to the draft DP released last year. The second part of the draft DP, which covers 111 hectares (1.11sq km) in three areas of the city, has received only 28 suggestions and objections so far, according to officials from BMC’s DP department. The deadline for citizens to send in feedback ends on December 30. In comparison, the draft DP 2034 released in May 2016 had received 7,000-odd suggestions and objections from citizens in a span of two months. The three areas for which the second phase of the draft DP 2034 has been released are  business district from SV Road to Link Road;  A block, which includes Reclamation and areas near Rangsharda auditorium; and Parigkhari from LBS Road to Mithi river in . The three land parcels were handed over by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority to the BMC in 2016, but by then the BMC had finished preparing the draft DP 2016 for the entire city. It was then decided to chalk out a plan for these areas separately, said civic officials. A senior civic official pointed out that they had anticipated this kind of response as it covers only three areas. “Besides, this time we have even extended the feedback period to December 30 as the draft DP could not be uploaded on time owing to technical issues,” he said. Pankaj Joshi, executive director of the Urban Design Research Institute, which has submitted suggestions and objections to the second part of the draft DP said one of the reasons for the lukewarm response is also the fact that these land parcels are small in size and house slums like at Oshiwara and Parigkhari. “Slum-dwellers are not likely to give feedback. But it is possible that there could be a spurt in suggestions and objections as the deadline nears,” he added. Vidya Vaidya of Bandra Reclamation Area Volunteers’ Organisation, which has also sent feedback, said they have objected towards an entire municipal market being marked as a parking lot in the area. Besides considering that the organization has been working closely on making their area zero-waste, Vaidya said they have also suggested waste segregation centres be earmarked in the draft plan.