Righting the wrongs: Civic chief ropes in ward officers to rectify devpt plan 2034 : The Times of India

Mumbai:



BMC chief Ajoy Mehta is leaving no stone unturned in revising the draft Development Plan (DP) 2034.

The draft DP, published in February , was criticized over “grave errors“ after which the state sought to rectify the city's blue print.

On Saturday in a meeting convened for assistant municipal commissioners, Mehta ordered ward-level staffers to prepare the ground. Ward officers had not been roped in while compiling the previous version of the draft DP 2034.

The BMC received around 64,867 suggestions and objections in connection with the draft DP 2034 after it was made public.However, senior civic officials confirmed that after segregating and digitizing the feedback received, it was found that only around 23,000 points could be considered as “valid“. A circular was issued by Mehta directing assistant municipal commissioners of 24 wards and zonal deputy municipal commissioners in connection with site verification. The circular mentioned that the civic body is in the process of ex amining errors in the draft DP 2034. For this, verification of the existing “site conditions“ need to be made with regard to DP errors noticed on proposed DP roads, proposed widening of existing roads, suggestions, objections from citizens. Based on verification or analysis by the ward staff, corrections will be made. If suggestions and objections involve policy issues, then the ward officer will submit his advice and reasons for his recommendations.

“The assistant munici pal commissioners have been told to collect DP sheets pertaining to their respective wards and begin work.Assignments pertaining to the Development Plan have to be completed within a month by all ward-level staffers,“ said a civic official. The BMC has also decided to depute an urban planner in each of the 24 civic wards to assist in the revision process. The planners experts will be from the BMC's municipal architects' department.

In the previously published DP, several heritage structures, including the Asiatic Society of Bombay and the Central Library (Old Town Hall) had been missing. The draft DP had proposed a public road cutting through St Anne's Church on Pali Hill in Bandra. Heritage experts had raised objections after Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya was shown as part of a recreation ground.