Mumbai: The much-awaited open spaces policy is finally expected to be tabled by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) before the civic general body by mid-February for a final nod. Currently awaiting final ratification and administrative sanction for the draft policy, the civic body will place it before the standing committee for discussion soon, senior civic officials told FPJ.
The BMC has 1,068 open spaces reserved for gardens, recreation grounds, or playgrounds, and the policy will deal with rules for use and maintenance of these spaces.
In 2017, the BMC had taken back open spaces from private entities who were appointed `caretakers’ for their upkeep. The move seems to have come full circle, with strong indications that the policy may again allow for private entities to play a role in the maintenance of open spaces. Officials of the BMC’s gardens department have told FPJ that they were instructed to draft a more `citizen-friendly’ and `CSR-friendly policy’.
"The draft policy is undergoing corrections, and will be sent for administrative sanction thereafter," said BMC's superintendent of Garden Jitendra Pardeshi, refusing to divulge any further details on the draft policy.
Sources in the know, however, revealed that the draft policy will be tabled before the civic general body in the next 15-20 days.
Earlier this month, on January 22, a proposal was tabled before the standing committee for its approval to give away gardens and playgrounds for upkeep and maintenance on a contract basis for one year. BMC has finalised 24 contractors for 24 wards for maintaining open spaces, traffic islands and road dividers for the next one year. The civic body will spend Rs 46.18 crore on the overall maintenance according to the proposal.
In an indication that tabling of the draft open space policy before the civic body is imminent, this other proposal was stalled when it came up for discussion before the committee. "We need more time to go through the proposal before it is discussed in the committee,” said Yashwant Jadhav, standing committee chairman.
Nayana Kathpalia from NGO Nagar and trustee of the Horniman circle Garden trust said, "The one-year contract proposal according to me is just temporary, till the open space policy comes into effect. However, that too is not finalised. It’s all a bit vague. We had been maintaining Horniman Circle garden for over 30 years now, and the garden was very well maintained. We had applied under the interim policy for the upkeep of the garden, but haven't heard anything from the BMC yet. In the absence of any upkeep plan, gardens and open spaces will get ruined."
When the draft policy was initially placed in the public domain in August 2019 for suggestions and objections in August had sought the involvement of NGOs, societies, companies, and individuals for the upkeep and maintenance of the gardens and open spaces. Suggestions and objections were invited within a window of two weeks, following which, the civic body was supposed to publish the draft policy, including the suggestions, on its website. Six months on, the policy is yet to be published online.
Citizen activists, who have been fighting a battle to ensure that citizens get the benefit of the open spaces in the city, have expressed their fear that the new draft policy might safeguard the interests of politicians in possession of public open spaces.
"The interim draft policy was gathering dust for months now. They should first publish it on the website for the public to review it. It’s all an eyewash, as the open spaces will finally be handed over to landsharks and politicians," said Matunga based activist Nikhil Desai.
The 2015 draft policy ran into trouble after it allowed private entities to adopt open spaces, leading to public outcry. The BMC then took back the open paces and started maintaining them through contractors.
"BMC had allotted as many as 216 open spaces under its jurisdiction to private entities. However, it took back 190 open spaces back. Many open spaces allotted to politicians are yet to be taken," Desai added.
In 2019, Municipal commissioner Praveen Pardeshi asked the BMC's gardens department to process the applications and give out plots to private entities or NGOs who were maintaining the parks before.
