The Bandra Reclamation Area Volunteers Organisation (BRAVO) has alleged that the proposed construction could extend beyond the existing retaining wall into Mahim Creek and is now seeking cancellation of the project, as the state moves to frame a common policy for Mumbai’s promenades.
MUMBAI: A plan to “beautify” the Bandra Reclamation Promenade has left local residents worried about what could happen to the waterfront they use and the creek alongside it.
BRAVO has urged the chief minister to apply the same principle being considered for Mumbai’s promenades to the proposed works at Bandra Reclamation and scrap the project.
The policy is also expected to incorporate suggestions and objections raised by citizens. The residents have alleged that this could amount to encroachment into the creek and violate multiple environmental laws. The policy decision was taken at a meeting on August 25 convened by Maharashtra cabinet minister for Culture and Information Technology and Bandra West MLA Ashish Shelar, and attended by representatives of various concerned authorities.
The meeting decided that uniform regulations would be formulated for all promenades in Mumbai, irrespective of the authority responsible for them, according to BRAVO. The discussions have also stalled the proposed public-private partnership (PPP) model for the Carter Road Promenade in Bandra, according to BRAVO. The residents’ group said it was not opposed to a regulated PPP model for maintaining promenades, but objected to permanent or commercial construction on these public spaces. The proposed plan involves construction beyond the existing retaining wall and into Mahim Creek, according to BRAVO. “The proposed structure has no connection with the maintenance of this public space,” BRAVO said in its representation to the chief minister, seeking his intervention and asking the authorities to scrap the project with immediate effect.
