Mumbai's greenest heartland finds no takers for maintenance work

Despite being a key tourist hub in the city, nobody seems to be keen on supplying manpower for the upkeep of Maharashtra Nature Park (MNP). For the last one year, MMRDA has been trying to appoint an agency that can provide labourer service on contract basis for maintenance of the park.

After failing to get a response thrice already, MMRDA is issuing a tender once more. "We are hopeful that interested agencies will respond to the tender for the appointment of an agency to provide labourer services at MNP," said Dilip Kawatkar, joint project director, MMRDA.

In June this year, mid-day had reported how MNP was to get 37 new staffers, but no company has shown any interest yet.

MNP has been developed on a 37 acre-plot by the MMRDA, with the help of a private NGO. Once a dumping ground and landfill, the area has now been transformed into a small forest. According to officials, the park is home to about 63 species of birds, 40 varieties of butterflies, snakes, other insects, and over 13,500 trees of various species, including herbs, shrubs, grasses, etc. Between October and March, it becomes the go-to spot for birdwatchers.