Mumbai's lost green spaces

Mumbai: Mumbai is undoubtedly the most congested city in the country but it could have been very different. For a city already choking, boxed in with buildings and more on the way, things have possibly just got worse.

Over 4,596 acres of land, reserved for parks, gardens, schools, libraries and parking lots could go back to its original owners, simply because for years the Mumbai Municipality has not paid up and claimed them.

The delay allows the original owners, the chance to reclaim their land under the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act. Activists allege the delays are deliberate and that the municipality is hand-in-glove with builders.

"Most of these reserved lands have been cornered by select builders. My information is that 8 or 10 people have cornered these lands and they are in the business of getting these removed from reservation. So, every year they ensure that the land is not acquired. And now when the rates are so high you go issue purchase notices," said Chandrashekhar Prabhu, Urban Planner.

"The problem is that real estate prices in Mumbai are very high. I give a solemn assurance to the citizens that this land which is yet to be acquired will be reserved in the next development plan," said Swadheen Kshatriya, Municipal Commissioner, Mumbai.

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Yet the delay is a vicious cycle. The open spaces, which could have been acquired by the municipality much cheaper 20 years ago, are now worth crores, making it more difficult for India's richest municipality to buy them, a lost opportunity for the congested city.