Rane demands gardens in DP plan

Congress legislator Narayan Rane on Friday raised the issue of several garden plots and playgrounds being handed over to private trusts in the city and demanded that the state government should find out whether they are open to the general public.

Rane said that Mumbai is the financial capital of the country and also that of the state. “Plus this is also a tourist location and a large number of people come here from different parts of the world,” he said. Therefore, there is a need for having proper gardens and playgrounds which can be used by youngsters to play sports.

However, it has been seen that several of these plots have been handed over to private trusts for maintenance but these have been used to construct clubs on them. “The administration should find out whether these places are open for the general public or if they have been completely usurped by these trusts,” he said. And if the municipal corporation finds that these places have been taken over by clubs, then they should be taken back.

Another important issue that came up was that of bursting of major pipelines that supply water to the city. According to Congress legislator Sanjay Dutt, there have been pipe bursts at places like Vartak Nagar, Andheri and Ghatkopar in recent days which led to wastage of a precious commodity like water.

Studies have shown that many of these pipelines were laid down during the British period and they could be in a bad condition. “Therefore, there is a need to replace these pipelines urgently since there is a chance of water contamination due to this situation,” he pointed out.

The state minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Girish Bapat admitted that this is a serious problem and it is a fact that many of the pipelines are very old. “We will call for a meeting of all parties in this regard and discuss ways of creating a separate budget for this purpose,” he said. The damage to the pipelines also leads to mixing of drinking water and drainage water and this leads to contamination and should be stopped, he added.

Members also raised the issue of having better medical facilities in government hospitals and said that it is also important to take up awareness issues to prevent cancer.

The matter was raised by the Shiv Sena legislator Neelam Gorhe who said that there is a shortage of hospital beds and there are often cases where patients are made to lie on the floor.