Today, as that character of the suburb is on the cusp of change, with a proposed 13.40-meter Development Plan Road, a 30,000-seat Global Capacity Centre (GCC), redevelopment and expansion of commercial properties, and a proposed data centre, Powaikars have formed many groups as a collective to push back against the development. MUMBAI: Time was when Mumbaikars chose to live in verdant Powai – a central suburb of Mumbai – for its planned wide pavements, tree-lined avenues and open spaces. Developed in the early 1990s, it was envisioned as a self-contained township where children could safely walk to school and residents could enjoy the breeze wafting across the hills surrounding the neighbourhood.
“We had signed up for a Powai that was guarded by hills, clean lakes and forests.
All that is being taken away in the garb of development,” said Gohrani. Jayman Khona, who is a part of the campaign said “the proposed GCC has emerged as a particular flashpoint”. Residents have described the project as a “public and ecological disaster in the making” and questioned “the logic of embarking on redevelopment on such a large scale in an already densely populated neighbourhood”.
“Can Powai take this additional pressure? A follow-up letter to the chief minister’s office (CMO) was sent last month – both did not elicit any response. The proposed data centre has stoked concerns about water scarcity, a global conversation starter. She remembers seeing bullfights on the surrounding hills from her window. When her ageing parents moved in with her in the early 2000s, the proximity to the hospital was a triumph. She pointed to Powai’s already challenging traffic situation, which she feels is being driven by commerce.
The ALM, along with key members of 15 housing societies, wrote a letter to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis in June, expressing their opposition to the GCC, requesting an in-person meeting with the chief minister. When Shobha Philip, secretary of Lake Castle building which abuts the forest, moved to Hiranandani Gardens in 1993, her four-year-old daughter walked to school. The new development plans are an imposition on us, which have been launched in an undemocratic way,” said Milan Bhatt, secretary of the Powai ALM, pointing to impending collapse of traffic infrastructure as a result of the redevelopment projects, which would bring a large number people into this township.
“The cumulative impact of such projects needs to be assessed, which has not been done at all,” said a resident who did not wish to be named. “Now, that journey takes half an hour,” Philip said. “More offices and commercial developments translate to more people entering and leaving the township without a corresponding increase in road capacity,” she said. “This place was once covered with lush green trees; it did not feel like Mumbai at all,” she said.
When he came to live here in 1996, he said, residents did not require air-conditioning or even fans. I have to keep the windows shut and the fans and AC on constantly,” said Goenka, pointing to the redevelopment of the CitiPark — a five-storey commercial structure which will be replaced by an 18-storey building — abutting his building. Environmentalist and long-time Powai resident Debi Goenka also remembers the township for its microclimate.
“Today, noise from the construction site next to me continues throughout the day.
