Mumbai DP to be placed before statutory panel

Genuine concerns over the blueprint will be factored into the revised plan

July 03, 2016 12:00 am | Updated 05:40 am IST - MUMBAI:

The Development Plan (DP) for Mumbai will be placed before the Statutory Committee (SC) comprising four Maharashtra government officials and three civic planners, once genuine concerns over the blueprint are factored into the revised plan. According to Ramakant Jha, Officer on Special Duty (OSD) with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), “While the final DP would lock the blueprint of Mumbai for the next 20 years, it would be segmented into four five-year plans and will have an annual focus on milestones through the BMC budget process.”

“The plan affords flexibility to incorporate public feedback and that process is currently on,” Mr. Jha added.

Reacting to a student’s question on the vast chasm between Mumbai’s large migrant population and the DP’s projected objective of creating 8 million jobs as well as affordable homes, Mr. Jha said, “A large segment of the migrant population is in the informal sector. As regards affordable housing envisaged in the revised DP, the BMC would be able to offer reasonably priced homes in the range of Rs. 5 to 6 lakh each, considering it would not incur land costs. The construction costs and transaction levies would be the cost component for the affordable houses envisaged by the DP for Mumbai.”

Mr. Jha was interacting with nearly 300 students of architecture, social science and urban planning at a conference organised by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) on the Development Plan in South Mumbai on Saturday. ORF chairperson Sudheendra Kulkarni said, “Unlike earlier DPs of Mumbai in 1964 and 1991, the city has changed dramatically. While the BMC-administered region is 475 sq km, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) is approximately 4,400 sq-km. Today, infrastructure and transportation projects are being planned across the MMR region and therefore, it is essential to have an Integrated Regional Plan (IRP) for the whole region that may be designated as Maha Mumbai.”

Mr. Kulkarni emphasised that the new airport facility is proposed to be set up outside the jurisdiction of the BMC and even the DP draft plan states that 66 per cent of the people working within the civic administered region actually live outside the region. “It is necessary to focus on an integrated plan for the whole MMR region, instead of distinct projects being planned individually by the BMC, Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA), Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) and other planning and executing agencies of the State government.”

He added that ORF emphasised inclusive democracy even at the planning stage, unlike how political parties seek to run the affairs of the State. “People’s roles do not end, but actually should begin, right after the elections are over. Our effort today was to ensure that future urban planners, economists, architects and social scientists share their concerns vis-à-vis the DP of the city as they would be actively involved in the sectors that are directly involved with the transformation of the city,” Kulkarni said.

Research fellow with the ORF, Sayali Mankikar, noted that this was possibly the first such interaction organised between the youth and planning authorities.

She said, “The youth are never consulted on aspects of town planning, although as professionals, they would be actively participating in the development plan in a few years. We have also sought abstracts from the participants on their suggestions to improve the draft DP. Once these are received, a jury panel of BMC officials, including Mr. Jha and other experts, will select the best submissions. BMC commissioner Ajoy Mehta would hand out the prizes to the best suggestions received.”

Infrastructure and transportation projects are being planned across the MMR region and so it is essential to have an Integrated Regional Plan for the whole region

Sudheendra Kulkarni

ORF chairperson

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