Priyadarshini Park, the 60,000-sqm sprawl of luxuriant green amid the overwhelming concrete structures of Malabar Hill, may soon lose its tranquility.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to take back 15,000 sqm of the park to construct services and amenities. The Malabar Hill Citizens’ Forum, which developed the plot into a lung space of the locality with a joggers’ track, a garden and other facilities, refuses to surrender the piece of land.
The state government had handed over the plot to the BMC in 1980. In 1985, the municipal corporation had given it to the forum to develop the park. However, the development planning (DC) rules clearly stated that 26,000 sqm of the plot will be reserved for a maidan, 19,000 sqm for a garden and 8,000 sqm for a freeway to connect Malabar Hill to Worli. Six thousand sqm was reserved for a fire station and 1,000 sqm for the post-office.
“Once the BMC and the state government decide to develop the reserved plot for the said services and amenities, then the residents’ association has to part with the plot. We urgently need to develop the fire station and the government is also planning to extend the freeway from Worli to Malabar Hill. We have asked the citizen’s forum to return the plot,” said a senior civic official.
The forum, however, is adamant about not giving up the land. BA Desai, president of the forum and former urban development minister, said: “Giving back 15,000 sqm of the park means destroying the entire garden, jogging track and sports club. The entire garden will be divided into pieces.”
Uday Tatkare, chief fire officer, said the BMC needs to develop the fire station urgently. “Several new residential towers have come up at Peddar Road and Malabar Hill area. There is no fire station in this vicinity,” he said.
He said some years ago, the Nariman Point fire station area was grabbed by certain people. They were not in a mood to give up this plot. “But the authorities and local citizens were firm enough to grab it back. We will repeat the same story at Priyadarshini Park,” he added.
Desai said the forum would request the authorities not to touch the garden and shift the fire station to a different location. “We will take the matter up with chief minister Prithviraj Chavan,” he said.
