
A month since Mumbaikars submitted suggestions and objections on the controversial draft development plan (DP) 2034, about 35,000 letters have been processed till date, sources confirmed.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) received 64,867 suggestions and objections from citizens on the plan. The civic body had allotted a 60-day period for the same between February and April this year. Sources said that BMC is considering every suggestion and objection while rectifying the plan, which has to be revised by August, according to a directive issued by the state government.
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A source associated with the process said, “A seven-member panel consisting of three civic members and four state government members would have been called for a hearing on each of the suggestions and objections. However, since the plan has to be revised by BMC, the letters are now being processed as a means to check if the errors exist and if they need to be corrected. Once the revised plan is published, BMC will invite suggestions and objections again.”
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Officials also confirmed that BMC has completed the process of creating a digital matrix of all the errors. Ajoy Mehta, Municipal Commissioner, said, “The process of rectifying apparent errors in the plan has begun. We are also taking expert opinion from urban planners on the draft.” Though there were a lot of doubts raised on the civic body only revising the errors in the plan, senior civic officials have confirmed that they are looking at making fundamental changes in the plan, including changes to floor space index (FSI) norms and open space allocations.
While BMC’s plans for a massive increase in FSI ranging between 2.5 to 8 had invited a lot of criticism, its unambitious reduction in open space allocations and plans to develop Aarey into a business centre also created a lot of controversy.
tanushree.venkatraman@expressindia.com
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