70-hectare open space along Coastal Road: In RTI response, BMC says yet to draw up usage plan
Replying to a Right To Information (RTI) application filed by Breach Candy resident Nigum Lakhani, the civic body said no decision has been taken on where the public utilities will be set up on the 70 hectares.
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Earlier in May this year, the civic authorities had appointed Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) for development of the 70-hectare land parcels.It has been more than one year since it threw open the first phase of the Mumbai Coastal Road between Marine Drive and Worli, but the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is yet to decide on how some of the primary land parcels will be used now that the project is complete.
As part of the project, the BMC reclaimed 110 hectares of land, out of which 40 hectares have been used for constructing roads while 70 hectares are to be used as open spaces where utilities such as parking lots and walkways can be constructed.
Replying to a Right To Information (RTI) application filed by Breach Candy resident Nigum Lakhani, the civic body said no decision has been taken on where the public utilities will be set up on the 70 hectares. The RTI response also says the BMC is yet to prepare a blueprint of maps and layouts based on which the usage of these plots will be decided. The reply to the RTI application came from the Coastal Road’s chief engineer’s office.
Earlier in May this year, the civic authorities had appointed Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) for development of the 70-hectare land parcels. RIL will develop the land at its own cost along with maintaining it. In the RTI reply, the civic body said the land has been given to RIL for a period of 30 years, extendable for 30 more years.
“For the time being, the promenade will be opened to the public. Once it is opened, work on the remaining portions of the existing plots will be taken up by the authorities. The promenade will be 7-km-long that will give people an additional open space by the sea,” an official said. Besides, the RTI reply also says the BMC is yet to record citizens’ suggestions and objections on the usage of the 70 hectares.
Construction of the 10-km-long Coastal Road began in 2018 and the road was opened to the public in a phased manner starting March 2024. Initially, only the road was made operational and the civic authorities had said remaining work of development of green spaces would take another year.
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