MUMBAI: A hundred-odd Breach Candy residents turned up at Cymroza Art Gallery on Saturday at 10 am to attend a meeting organised by the Breach Candy Residents’ Forum (BCRF) to discuss concerns on what the proposed coastal road gardens could mean for the neighbourhood and its infrastructure.
The demand for a Nepean Sea exit from the coastal road was strongly reiterated at the meeting. Why just an exit? We are also ready for an entry,” Lakhani quoted Mishra as saying. Residents argued that the two demands—no access points to the gardens from Breach Candy and an exit from the Nepean Sea Road of the Coastal Road—would make sure that the neighbourhood was much more liveable.
Mamta Mangaldas, from the core group of BCRF, said that planning should be the primary concern, given the density of the Breach Candy neighbourhood. “If thousands of people come to the gardens, do we have the infrastructure to support such an influx?” she asked. Resident Nigam Lakhani said residents were concerned that the civic administration had not adequately considered the neighbourhood’s traffic and infrastructure constraints. He called for a detailed traffic study, particularly as the traffic department had not, according to residents, given a heads-up on such a plan. “We need to make sure there is consideration given to saving the neighbourhood from descending into a disaster,” he said. Lakhani, who has been following the demand, said that Laxminarayan Mishra, joint managing director (II) of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), had told residents at a meeting a fortnight ago that he was “positive” about the proposal. Mehmood Curmally, chairman of ‘Valentina’ on Gamadia Road, said he had actively engaged with residents after learning about the meeting and encouraged them to attend. However, he said there was a need for greater participation from younger residents. “There is a limitation,” he said. “There need to be more young people who take upon themselves the mantle of making sure that the nature of the neighbourhood is not lost.”
Nayana Kathpalia, founder-trustee of NAGAR (NGO Alliance for Governance and Renewal), who addressed residents at the meeting, stressed the need for complete details before any plan was implemented. She further questioned the legality of having built-up areas within a recreational zone.
Urging residents to remain united, saying there was “strength in numbers”, Kathpalia also questioned the proposed ticketed zone, expressing astonishment that it would not be a contiguous area but instead be scattered across the gardens.
Under the July 17, 2026 master plan, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is set to develop 53 hectares of reclaimed open space along the coastal road at an estimated cost of ₹ 400 crore. The proposed coastal road gardens will have 15 access points, including three in Breach Candy. Residents opposed all the three access points while unanimously advocating an exit on the Nepean Sea Road stretch of the coastal road to help decongest Mukesh Chowk. They also maintained that visitors arriving in cars to the gardens should be encouraged to arrive via the coastal road, and proposed a shuttle service from Haji Ali as an alternative to bringing large volumes of traffic into their neighbourhood. They suggested that pedestrian access could be through the promenade.
