The rapid increase in private vehicle ownership has directly impacted the air pollution levels in Mumbai, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner Praveen Pardeshi said on Friday.
Speaking at a session as part of the Dasra Philanthropy Week, he said the city has a high green cover but it is still among the most polluted mega cities. “Take London for example. Why is it so clean? It is because most people travel in public transport.”
The BMC Commissioner also walked the audience through initiatives to clear roads by imposing heavy fines for parking and encouraging people to take public transport. “We reduced the minimum BEST ticket fare from ₹10 to ₹5 and within five months, the number of BEST bus commuters has jumped to 34 lakh from 22 lakh,” he said, adding the buses are fitted with GPS, and they have tied up with Google to better the commuter experience and ease the travel.
According to Mr. Pardeshi, Mumbai is a challenging city to plan for. “Almost two-thirds of the city is not for development,” he said, adding this leaves only one-third of the city where infrastructure can be developed. When left to themselves, he said, people have built homes in areas which are not to be developed.
“We often contest, how to provide homes to everyone. One of the things we are working on is in situ accommodation. If we try to shift them somewhere else, it doesn’t work. In situ development works because workplaces of people are close by,” he said.
Talking about the challenge of space in the city, Mr. Pardeshi said they have opted for something that most countries have already done, which is building in the sea. “That’s what coastal road is about. But the latest petition against it is that we are building it too fast,” he said, adding if all goes smoothly, coastal road will be ready by 2022.