Nod to plan, residents can submit suggestions in the next 60 days

Significantly, the draft DP proposes to open up at least 3000 hectares of government and privately-owned land, hitherto not available for development, including NDZ, Tourism Development Areas, salt pan lands, for the creation of affordable housing stock.

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Additionally, 60 hectares of Mumbai Port Trust land has also been earmarked for affordable housing. The BMC has set an ambitious target of constructing 5 lakh affordable housing units.

As far as the standards of public amenities are concerned, the draft DP 2014-2034 retains the standards of the 1991 DP, though it has removed the duality of separate standards for the island city and the suburbs. It has proposed to consider the higher of the two standards in each public amenity.

In comparison with last year’s draft DP, the new draft DP has increased amenity standards’ norms per person. While last year’s draft DP kept the educational amenity availability at 1.37 square metres per person, the new draft DP has proposed 1.57 sq mt per person. For health facilities, it was 0.38 sq mt per person and now it is proposed to be 0.41 sq mt per person. The standards for the public open spaces has been increased to 4 sq mt per person from 2 sq mt from last year’s draft DP.

As per the new draft, the land required for amenities is 7832.74 hectares. Education amenities require 2013 hectares and health amenities require 537 hectares. Public open spaces require 5116 hectares and social amenities require 166 hectares. The total existing land available for amenities is 3034 hectares and the shortfall of land to develop these amenities is 4798 hectares.

The total land that is proposed to be acquired for public purposes by 2034 is 59.43 million sq mt.

Also, the controversial provisions of reclaiming 300 acres in Cuffe Parade to create a Central Park and the proposal for a Metro carshed depot at Aarey colony in Goregaon have been retained.

Though the Congress, NCP, the MNS and SP has opposed the draft DP, the proposal to publish it was approved after the Sena and BJP voted in favour of it.

Residents can submit their suggestions on a dedicated link to be made available on the MCGM website, once the draft DP is uploaded. Also, from Monday, the officials of the development plan department will set up five tables at the civic headquarters where residents can give suggestions physically and get a receipt. A panel of three members of the civic standing committee and four experts will be appointed to grant individual hearings to each suggestion received. Then a consolidated report will be placed before the BMC general body for discussion and approval in 60 days and sent to the state government for final approval.