From the heritage lanes of Khotachiwadi, Nana Chowk, to Malabar Hill and Breach Candy, the D ward is where Mumbai’s oldest and most high-profile neighbourhoods jostle for space in the heart of the island city. The likes of Maharashtra’s chief minister, governor, Mumbai’s municipal commissioner, top industrialists, and other high-profile residents call the ward their home.
Despite its VIP tag, the ward finds its resources stretched to the limits as it has familiar problems plaguing the rest of the city. In the absence of elected representatives for nearly four years, damaged roads, encroachment along walking spaces, lack of parking spaces, and hoards of political banners have become all pervasive in the crucial ward.
However, with the historic lanes fast succumbing to new infrastructure projects, the rising tide of redevelopment in the neighbourhood, and a fight for open spaces have emerged as the biggest concerns among the residents of the ward.
Key Issues in the high-profile ward
“Despite the ward having a high profile, the quality of Napean Sea Road is bad, and we even lack adequate footpaths where people can walk safely. Lack of parking spaces, even inside our buildings, has become a big problem, but the biggest crisis in our ward is the high number of unlicensed hawkers, who have taken over every conceivable space, including our walkways,” said Vinay Punjabi, a local resident and a committee member of the Napean Sea Road Citizens’ Forum.
Meanwhile, according to data from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the ward is also home to at least 15 landslide-prone pockets, where settlements have been erected along the hill slope. Airing concerns over rampant construction activity in the Malabar Hill area, which is among the geographically vulnerable spaces of the ward, Pervin Sanghvi, a resident, said, “Being geologically vulnerable, we are extremely worried about the rampant and unbalanced high-rise constructions being sanctioned on it. The locality’s carrying capacity and civic infrastructure are totally ill-equipped to bear the load of increased human and vehicle density. Therefore, the BMC must prioritise the redevelopment of dilapidated and irreparable structures, and slum rehabilitation instead of indiscriminate construction. To maintain the locality’s existing quality of life, the conservation of trees on the plots of buildings going under redevelopment is very crucial.”
The ongoing construction activity has also raised concerns over the depleting open spaces, felling of trees, and unscientific pruning. As per civic data, D ward is home to 25 open spaces, including some of the city’s most iconic open spaces, including the historic August Kranti Maidan, Priyadarshini Park, and the Kamala Nehru Park. The fear over the diminishing open space is best characterised by the residents’ fight for the greens of Hanging Gardens, where the BMC had planned a new reservoir that was expected to affect 389 trees.
Meanwhile, in the eastern pockets of the ward, which include cramped lanes of Khetwadi and Grant Road east, encroachments and cleanliness have emerged as key concerns among the voters.
BJP a dominant force
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Cumulatively, the BMC’s final prabhag-wise voters list shows that the ward is home to 3.06 lakh voters, with a large population of Gujarati and Parsi residents.
Politically dominated by the BJP, the D ward encompasses six electoral wards (214 to 219). In the previous civic polls, four seats were held by the BJP leaders, while wards 215 and 216 were held by corporators of the undivided Shiv Sena and the Congress, respectively. However, in 2024, Rajendra Narwankar, the Congress corporator from ward 216, pledged allegiance to the BJP, leaving only one ward, 216, which was held by Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Arundhati Dudhwadkar, under the Opposition fold. Large swathes of D ward predominantly fall under the Malabar Hill Assembly constituency, held by BJP leader Mangal Prabhat Lodha.
Even as the BJP holds a dominant space across D ward, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant said the Opposition party would retain its seat in the ward.
“In the Malabar Hill area, we may not have a majority as the voters chose to elect representatives with a regional bias. Despite this, we are a party that works for the development and protection of the people, and we are available for citizens on call. Even though we were not elected in these wards, people reach out to us for help, and we continue to serve them. We are confident that we will be contesting as well as winning from the 216 seat, wherein our candidate had won the last time,” Sawant, who also heads the Sena (UBT) workers’ wing, told The Indian Express.
