Sameer Surve

Opposition parties have stepped up their attack over the proposed change in reservation of the Neville D'Souza Ground in Bandra, alleging that the move is being pushed at the behest of influential people in Mantralaya. They have said they will raise the issue during the upcoming assembly session.

The Neville D'Souza Ground in Bandra is not an exception. The Opposition has alleged that reservations on 17 public plots across Mumbai have been altered in just over four-and-a-half years for private use. Among them are land parcels earmarked as gardens, and recreation grounds apart from 16 plots designated as playgrounds.

The controversy over the conversion of the Neville D'Souza ground in Bandra has turned the spotlight on the questionable reservation changes happening across other land parcels in Mumbai.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to send more than 30,000 civic school students on an environmental education tour to Keshav Srushti at Uttan in Bhayandar, a sprawling campus associated with several organisations linked to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

As Mumbai residents push back against proposals to alter reservations on plots earmarked as open spaces, neighbouring Thane is grappling with a different problem: land reserved for public use is yet to be acquired. Of 103 plots earmarked for public amenities such as gardens and playgrounds, only 39 are currently available for public use, according to compiled data cited by civic activist Kasber Augustin.

Mumbai's green spaces are more of a promise than a reality. In the aftermath of the controversy over Bandra's Neville D'Souza ground, Mirror's investigation into the civic land records threw up a dismal picture – nearly two-thirds of the thousands of plots marked as playgrounds, recreation grounds, and gardens in the city's Development Plan are not in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) control.

A citizenry trying desperately to save open spaces, and a civic body deaf to their plight – this is the narrative playing on a loop across Mumbai currently. The latest example comes from Ghatkopar, where local residents fought a legal battle to save an open plot reserved for a playground, but a year later, they are still waiting for Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to take possession of the land. The standoff has now entered another round, with the Akhil Bhatwadi Sarvajanik Mandal, which owns the plot, preparing to challenge a BMC notice directing it to hand over the property. Residents fear that another round of litigation could leave the playground trapped in uncertainty for years. They have demanded immediate action from the civic body.

A BJP corporator from Jogeshwari East has urged the Maharashtra government and the BMC to stop issuing occupation certificates (OCs) to new buildings in water-stressed areas, citing the ongoing water crisis in Mumbai.

The Shiv Sena, led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, is preparing to stake its claim to the Mumbai mayor's post when the current tenure reaches its midway point. Under the power-sharing arrangement in the BMC, the mayoralty is to change hands after the completion of the first half of the term, which is about 2.5 years. The Shiv Sena is expected to hold the post for half of the remaining, estimated at around 1 year and three months of the second term.

Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has said his priorities are to make Mumbai pothole-free and slum-free through coordinated action by multiple government agencies.