• Citizens ask all netas to join them in fight against open space policy
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  Only 7% fund utilised by BMC gardens department | The ...

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  Jan 31, 2015 - Only 7% fund utilised by BMC gardens department ... For the third consecutive year, the BMC has underutilised funds allocated for its Gardens department. ... There is no seriousness to restore and upgrade a garden,” complained ... But activists cited the example of Bombay Gymkhana and other clubs to ...

  Citizens ask all netas to join them in fight against open space policy

  Richa Pinto,TNN | Nov 17, 2015, 12.29 AM IST
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  MUMBAI: NGOs, citizen activists and think tanks are appealing to corporators to prevent the passage of the recreational ground (RG) and playground (PG) policy of the BMC in its current form.
  As the policy is expected to be placed before the BMC general body in its meeting on Wednesday, opponents are sending letters to all corporators seeking their support in the fight against the policy.
  On Tuesday, a discussion is being organized by a think tank on the issue to facilitate dialogue between BMC officials and stakeholders.
  NAGAR, an NGO from the city, sent a letter to all corporators and requested them to oppose the policy when it is tabled in the general body meeting. The NGO plans to send the request letters to all MLAs and MPs too.
  "The corporators duly represent the citizens and we have full faith in their rationale," Meher Rafat, trustee NAGAR, said. "Therefore, we are requesting them through this letter to oppose the policy, which is adverse in nature. We feel it important to be sending out letters to MLAs and MPs because you never know who will lend weight to the protest."
  Almost a week ago, NAGAR and other prominent associations in the city wrote to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, seeking his intervention and the scrapping of the policy as there were several contentious points in it.
  The Observer Research Foundation (ORF) has gone for a multi-stakeholder discussion on the policy chaired by its chairman Sudheendra Kulkarni, with participation from a senior BMC official, BJP city chief Ashish Shelar, citizen activists, architects and urban planners, including Hafeez Contractor, Ratan Batliboi, Pankaj Joshi and Abha Lambah.
  The suggestions from the meeting will be compiled into a memorandum to be submitted to municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta and the chief minister.
  "There are a total of 24 participants for the discussion," Sayli Udas Mankikar, research fellow, ORF, said. "It will be a good platform for the authority and the stakeholders to sit across and discuss the policy and exchange their thoughts over it".
  Municipal officials feel there is an urgent need for a policy to be in place for open spaces in the city.
  "Currently, there is no policy and there are several plots in the city which are being managed by default by trusts or associations," a senior official said. "This policy has been drafted in a way that ensures transparency and everything would happen in a manner in which all aspects regarding adoption of a plot would be in public domain."