BMC is back to its favourite pastime—re-digging up Mumbai!

The mini-garden being built on footpath outside the F South ward office at Parel, on Sunday. Pic/Ashish Raje

Footpaths that were redone earlier this year without paver blocks are now being dug again. This time, however, they are being redone to set up small green patches and gardens as part of the civic body's beautification drive. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has started constructing one such on one of the biggest footpaths of the city outside the F South ward office at Parel.

According to residents, the footpath outside the civic ward office building is around 200 metres in length and 12 metres to 15 metres in width. Civic work in the final stage covers more than 80 per cent portion of the footpath.

Sameer Hadkar, a resident, said, "The footpath was repaired one to one and a half years ago. The BMC had removed paver blocks from the footpath and converted it into a concrete one. The authorities are wasting our money. This is the one of biggest footpaths in the city. This ‘beautification' is eating into it. Why do they need to use the footpath?"

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He added that the mini-garden can cause accidents, especially during heavy rainfall. "This area is prone to waterlogging. The BMC is inviting accidents here. Are they taking suggestions from experts or do they just want to waste money?" he added. Prabhakar Morajkar, another local, is also unhappy about the project. "This is a waste of money. The administration is killing the footpath."

The BMC has embarked upon 1,077 works worth Rs 2,000 crore under the beautification project. These include colouring walls and flyovers, repairing footpaths, setting up attractive lighting and beautifying median dividers. Locals and city activists have objected to the removal of dividers that are in good condition under this drive. Recently, the Bombay High Court observed that footpaths should be left open for pedestrians.

The mini-garden being built outside the F South ward office in Parel, on Sunday. Pic/Ashish Raje

Civic activist Anil Galgali said, "Most of the footpaths in the city have been encroached upon. The BMC is unable to keep the footpath free of encroachments. Now, the authority itself making permanent constructions on footpaths."

Town planner Pankaj Joshi, principal director, Urban Centre Mumbai, said, "Anything that obstructs the free movement of pedestrians is not acceptable to the Indian Road Congress. Even urban design can't allow this kind of obstruction on footpaths. This is a dense-footfall area. It needs to be obstruction-free." When mid-day try to contact Mahesh Patil, assistant municipal commissioner, F South ward, his phone was switched off.

200
Length of footpath in metres

15 metres
Approximate width of the footpath