The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has prepared a new guideline for open spaces in the city. With amendments to the policy, the BMC has once again opened the doors for the adoption-and-caretaker basis criteria to grab the city’s open spaces.
The policy is applicable to private and municipal grounds, gymkhana, gymnasium, swimming pools, sports club and gardens. The amended policy will be tabled in the improvements committee meeting of the civic body this week. According to civic body officials, any caretaker who develops the plot or who have adopted the plot, will not be able to increase any kind of fees unless approved by the civic body. The fees, which clubs and gymkhanas, are charging will be regulated in due course of time. Even the lease period has been reduced to 30 years from 60 years.
The civic body has also put restriction on constructions in recreational ground and playground (RG-PG) plots. The earlier caretaker policy, which handed over plots of more than 10,000 sq m to private parties, resulted in citizens losing several open spaces to private clubs and gymkhanas. The BMC has included school and college playgrounds too for the adoption at the rate of Re1 per year. The trust or the organisation which will adopt the grounds will not be allowed to give the grounds for weddings or any religious and political functions.
For recreational grounds and the play grounds in the city, the BMC has decided to give them on adoption or caretaker basis. In the new policy, the annual income or the turnover of the organisation, who will be adopting the ground, will be taken into account while deciding the size of the plot to be given. The BMC has decided the criteria for the same.
To make the process of adoption and care-taker scheme easier, the BMC has categorised all such spaces and grounds. While giving all such open spaces on adoption basis, the BMC will keep a rider along with the permission, which will not
allow the parent agency to sub-let any part of the plot or the facility.
