& Activities
Meetings
Were Trained
The UDRI has built a stakeholder network of 250 NGOs and citizens consisting of approximately 2500 persons who became actively involved in this review process. The UDRI, through numerous meetings and letters, forced the MCGM to disclose and share with the public the Existing Land Use (ELU), on which the new DP was based.
The UDRI scrutiny of the ELU along with inputs from participating citizens and NGOs revealed no less than 3000 errors across various issues which the DP should address. Such inspection of the proposed DP has never been permitted to be raised in the past, making for an inadequate and skewed plan. Also during this scrutiny it was observed that areas under slum clusters (SC) and Special Planning Authorities (SPA), namely areas such as Cuffe Parade and Nariman Point were not part of the ELU. The MCGM said that this was because the planning authority was different. The UDRI has opposed this strongly with letters and meetings with bureaucrats and politicians as it further distorts the DP. To prove the UDRI’s point, if the ELU was overlaid on the current DP, it shows that all public amenity plots (open spaces, public dispensaries, municipal schools, Baal Wadis) have disappeared without a trace!
The Citizen NGO network that participated in this exercise consists of resident associations, individuals, and organizations such as Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), CitiSpace, O.V.A.L. Trust, Horniman Circle Garden Trust, Bombay Environmental Action Group (BEAG), SAVE Forum, IIT Mumbai, Youth United for Voluntary Action (YUVA), PRAJA Foundation, Salaam Bombay Foundation, SNEHA Foundation, Pratham, CEHAT, and Girni Kamgaar Sangathna.
To empower the citizens to give an informed response to the ELU scrutiny and the DP in general, the UDRI successfully undertook the following steps :–
The UDRI has built a stakeholder network of NGOs and citizens consisting of approximately 2500 persons who became actively involved in this review process. The UDRI, through numerous meetings and letters, forced the MCGM to disclose and share with the public the Existing Land Use (ELU), on which the new DP was based. The UDRI scrutiny of the ELU along with inputs from participating citizens and NGOs revealed no less than 3000 errors across various issues which the DP should address. Such inspection of the proposed DP has never been permitted to be raised in the past, making for an inadequate and skewed plan. Also during this scrutiny it was observed that areas under slum clusters (SC) and Special Planning Authorities (SPA), namely areas such as Cuffe Parade and Nariman Point were not part of the ELU. To prove the UDRI’s point, if the ELU was overlaid on the current DP, it shows that all public amenity plots (open spaces, public dispensaries, municipal schools, Baal Wadis) have disappeared without a trace! The MCGM said that this was because they selected an international consultant to prepare it. The UDRI has opposed this strongly with letters and meetings with bureaucrats and politicians as it further distorts the DP.
The Urban Design Research Institute (UDRI) initiated a public participatory process to support the MCGM in its preparation of the new DP. This is a first as the DP has never been opened up to public scrutiny before. The Citizen NGO network that participated in this exercise consists of resident associations, individuals, and organizations such as Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), CitiSpace, O.V.A.L. Trust, Horniman Circle Garden Trust, Bombay Environmental Action Group (BEAG), SAVE Forum, IIT Mumbai, Youth United for Voluntary Action (YUVA), PRAJA Foundation, Salaam Bombay Foundation, SNEHA Foundation, Pratham, CEHAT, and Girni Kamgaar Sangathna.
The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) published the Draft DP on February 25, 2015. Suggestions /objections had been invited from the public within 60 days of that date. The Mumbai Development plan 2014-34 had to be an all-encompassing document that protects the interest of the disenfranchised. However, the proposed draft excluded nearly three fourths of the city’s population and failed to respond to the pressing challenges of urban poverty, climate change, heritage conservation etc. The plan raging with obvious and fundamental error was unanimously criticized by all. The resultant pressure forced the State Government to scrap it. They have currently asked the Municipality to rework it.
MCGM WORKSHOP WITH STAKEHOLDERS FOR REVISION OF DRAFT DEVELOPMENT PLAN:
At the Urban Design Research Institute we feel it is necessary to reach out to the entire cross section of the city and build stronger networks that can be part of a public participation process for informing the Development Plan of the MCGM. We believe that providing adequate data to the general public will bring about effective participation and make the plan truly democratic.
Below are the links to the Documents obtained under the Right To information Act from the MCGM. These were the Documents submitted by the Consortium of Consultants appointed by the MCGM to do the Revision of Development Plan 2014-34.
Reparation of Existing Land Use Plan (ELU) For Mumbai
Ward Level Existing Land Use Maps from MCGM
http://www.udri.org/images/elu/
Note: All Reports/ Maps have been received under the Right To Information Act Dated: 19/4/2012
UDRI assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of the maps and reports.
These are generated by the MCGM Consultant for the Revision of the Development Plan for Mumbai 2014-34
For Further Information Contact the UDRI Office at 022 22822924
Existing Situation Analysis
Pankaj Joshi, the Executive Director of the UDRI, was awarded the Individual Award and the Popular Choice Award by Hindustan Times (HT for Mumbai Awards 2013) for his and UDRI’s work in mapping discrepancies in the Existing Land Use process. Quoting the work, HT said “If the discrepancies had not been mapped, the inaccurate and flawed maps would have deprived Mumbai of hundreds of open spaces and public amenities in the 20 year development plan being charted”.
ACHIEVEMENTS
PROJECT EXPANSION
UDRI will continue working on the MumbaiDP24seven project to ensure the inclusion of citizens’ articulated needs for amenities in the DP and develop effective strategies for implementation. This will be done through: