Reservations of 11,400 sq metre land parcels in Mumbai altered by BMC in a week

While political attention has focused on the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) decision to change the reservation on Mumbai’s Neville D’Souza Football Ground, civic records reveal it is not an isolated case. Last week, the civic body’s improvements committee also approved altering the reservation of two adjoining plots at Oshiwara in Andheri West, together measuring over 1,400 sq metres, paving the way for two development projects. The size of the Neville D’ Souza stand at 10,000 square meters, and therefore, in a week, the BMC changed reservation of over 11,400 square meters of land parcels in Mumbai.

The civic records show that a 1,140 sq metre plot originally reserved for public amenities such as hospitals, schools and gardens has been redesignated for a housing project, while a 297 square meter recreational ground has been converted into a site for a postal and telegraph office. The changes spark concerns over the gradual dilution of public land reservations in Mumbai – one of the world’s most space-starved cities.

Under Mumbai’s Development Plan (DP) module, land reservations are earmarked based on population needs to secure future civic infrastructure and open spaces.

According to civic records, the decision to convert the reservation of the land parcel in Oshiwara came from the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) which sought deletion of the reservation for the Neville D’Souza ground as well.

The DP rules state that for every housing project, 5 per cent of the available space should be reserved for open space or amenities.

The civic documents show that the MHADA, in its note, mentioned that the redevelopment layout in Oshiwara already provides public amenities including a playground, municipal primary school and secondary school, thereby fulfilling planning requirements, and the overall reservation of the plot should be changed for a housing scheme.

The BMC’s proposal also stated that a portion of the 1,140 square meter land also had a provision for a postal and telegraph office. However, since this land will be used for a housing project in the future, an adjoining plot measuring 297 square meters which was reserved for a recreational ground is now being reserved for the postal and telegraph office.

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Mumbai’s acute open space crunch

Experts and urban planners, meanwhile, criticised the BMC’s move of deleting the reservation of land parcels meant for open public spaces.

According to civic records, the ratio of open space stands at 0.87 square meter per person, while the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that every human being should have access to 9 square meters of open space.

Alan Abraham, urban planner and archaeologist, said that open spaces are not luxury or a visual amenity, rather like water or transport it’s a basic necessity.

“Around 30 per cent of the open spaces in Mumbai are either restricted or privately owned with nearly 50 per cent of the overall open spaces unavailable during day time hours,” Abraham said.

Nayana Kathpalia, trustee of NAGAR and Oval Trust, said that gardens and open spaces are of utmost importance in a city like Mumbai which has been witnessing increased flooding due to erratic rainfall pattern.

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“For any city, gardens and open spaces act as a permeable surface allowing rain water to penetrate underground. This phenomenon not only tackles water logging but also improves ground water percolation level,” Kathpalia said.

Speaking on the issue, a senior civic official said that the land originally was being owned by the MHADA and they have every right to alter the reservation.

“The housing project is going to be a slum rehabilitation scheme that will provide houses for lower income groups and a portion of that facility will be reserved for an open space as well,” an official said.

Ground taken, but not returned

Prior to the Neville D’Souza ground, the BMC in 2021 had also taken over the St. Xavier’s ground from the Mumbai District Football Association (MDFA) to construct an underground water holding tank to mitigate the flooding woes in central Mumbai’s Hindmata and Gandhi Nagar areas.However, MDFA said that BMC is yet to return the ground to them in an ‘as-is’ condition.

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“The BMC completed the construction of the water holding tank in 2023, and since then the ground is yet to be handed over to us. At present three-fourth of the gallery is being damaged and the surface of the ground is in an unplayable condition,” U Bannerjee, the treasurer of MDFA told the Indian Express. He said that with Neville D’Souza ground being taken over by the BMC now the association doesn’t have any ground left for them for practising.

“We will be meeting the municipal commissioner next week to decide on the future course of action and also to urge them to handover the St. Xavier’s ground to us in its original condition,” Banerjee said.