BMC wants to claim 300 acres of land from sea to build Mumbai its very own Central Park

A view of Cuffe Parade

BMC has proposed a plan to build Mumbai’s biggest park, along the lines of New York City’s Central Park. The civic body wants to reclaim 300 acres of land from the sea near Cuffe Parade for this project.

A senior civic official claimed that the plans for Cuffe Parade park, off GD Somani Marg, have been in existence since 1970. He added that the proposed recreational park will serve as a much-needed green cover for South Bombay and that the land will not be used for any commercial use.

Additionally, a BMC gardens department official said,” Municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta talked about the proposed changes in the development control rules on Wednesday, when he also mentioned the creation of a park in south Mumbai. The idea is to create a world-class recreational facility, and the civic administration as proposed it in the revised development control rules”

Furthermore, city officials also revealed that even if the proposal gets approved, obtaining the necessary permissions will be a time-consuming ordeal.

While, Cuffe Parade residents are joyous about the proposal, environmentalists have frowned upon it. Activist Rishi Aggarwal has criticized the plan arguing, “Why create just one park, that too at the southern tip of the city that will be accessed by a small number of people? Why can’t the administration create smaller parks across western and eastern suburbs, where majority of the city’s population resides? Let them have recreational grounds at all 24 wards in the city”.