BMC fails to mark private hospitals, schools in draft DP

MUMBAI: Hundreds of public amenities, such as schools, colleges and hospitals, and some landmark structures like the Bombay Stock Exchange tower have gone missing from the city’s development plan.

In yet another controversial move, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided not to mark critical privately-owned public amenities in the city’s blueprint for the next 20 years.

Some of these include the SNDT Women’s University in Marine Lines, Kirti M Doongursee College in Dadar, PD Hinduja Hospital & Research Centre in Mahim, the Bombay Stock Exchange tower, Haj House and the Swantantrya Veer Savarkar Memorial at Shivaji Park. The survey has also not marked many student hostels, mainly around Churchgate and Grant Road, both prime real estate area.

Here lies the problem: in its freshly-released Designation Survey, the BMC has not marked these amenities for their current use, but instead, recommended that the amenities be “included in the surrounding zone”. This means their use in the development plan will not be specific, but vague, because the civic body has created two mixed-use zones — commercial and residential.

Many believe this ambiguity could lead to land owners easily changing the use of these essential amenities.

CONTINUED ON P10 RELATED REPORT, P5