Mumbai: Asif Zakaria, former Congress corporator from the Bandra West area and a former member of the standing committee, has registered his objections to the adoption policy of Recreational Grounds (RG) and Playgrounds (PG) formulated by the BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation). He expressed concern that unscrupulous individuals might take undue advantage of the policy, using these plots for commercial purposes and depriving common Mumbaikars of access to RG-PGs.
In his letter of objection, addressed to the Superintendent of the Garden Department of the BMC, Zakaria stated that the BMC, being one of the wealthiest municipal corporations with a budget exceeding Rs 52,000 crore, should not evade its obligation to provide well-developed and well-maintained open spaces.
Zakaria: BMC not learning from past mistakes
He also pointed out that in the past, various open spaces have been usurped and continue to be misused for commercial gains. Zakaria criticized the BMC for not learning from these past mistakes.
"The policy will likely attract land speculators who, driven by vested interests, will exploit these open spaces for commercial gain, benefiting only a select wealthy few at the expense of ordinary Mumbaikars," Zakaria remarked.
"I strongly recommend that instead of proposing such a policy, which may sacrifice the benefits of common Mumbaikars, the BMC should focus on reclaiming the open spaces that have already been granted and misused for years."
"It is the social responsibility of the corporation to maintain and develop open spaces, and I firmly believe that these well-developed open spaces are invaluable assets that we must preserve for future generations, particularly in the space-constrained city of Mumbai."
