Seeking space in maximum chaos

It’s just another day for 66-year-old Nayana Kathpalia and 53-year-old Neera Punj as they go about their work at the CitiSpace office in Colaba.

It’s been barely over a week since unidentified gunmen opened fire at CitiSpace co-convenor Kathpalia’s residence and convenor Punj received threatening calls to withdraw an old public interest litigation (PIL).

“We must be truly mad to be still going about with our daily work as if nothing has happened,” laughs Kathpalia whose NGO’s creed is the protection of all public open spaces and advocacy of the rightful use of those spaces.

“If these people think that the PIL will stop if they eliminate us then they’re so wrong. It’s not about us but all of us and even if we are not here, the PIL won’t stop. It is a citizen’s movement and many other NGOs will come forward to fight for the cause,” say Kathpalia and Punj in unison.

This conviction is what brought the two together, their partnership dating back to 1996 after a chance meeting at the sheriff’s office. Both had been present as members of their respective residents’ association — Kathpalia for the Oval-Cooperage Residents’ Association (OCRA) and Punj for the Nariman Point-Churchgate Citizens’ Association (NPCCA). “Nayana came and asked for my phone number and bullied me to work with her,” remembers Punj with a smile.

They, along with other like-minded individuals, joined hands and began the Clean-up Churchgate Project in 1996. In association with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, the team undertook a second clean-up of the roads leading to the Churchgate station,  which is used by lakhs of commuters everyday. This continued for a year and a half.

It was a significant feat; they enrolled the services of 18 contract conservancy workers who worked in shifts and cleaned up the entire area around the station daily.

That apart, while Kathpalia, also a member of the Oval Trust, worked towards restoring the Oval Maidan — then a haven for drug pushers and pimps, Punj and NPCCA protested against the morchas (rallies), which would head for Mantralaya and would choke up the pavement opposite Churchgate station.

“The police sent an affidavit in support of the association and nearly 500 morchas, which used to be held annually, causing tremendous inconvenience to residents and pedestrians alike, were banned from Churchgate and made to stop at the Azad Maidan,” says Punj.

“Our entire effort has always been directed towards creating awareness among citizens towards their rights and helping them help themselves get a better quality of life. It is something that they need to work towards as nobody gives it as a box of chocolate,” says Punj.

The duo, along with 24 others, formed CitiSpace (Citizens’ Forum for Protection of Public Spaces) in June 1998 and has ever since been advocating the rightful use of open spaces in Greater Mumbai.

Their commitment towards giving the city its lungs and fighting for open spaces has seen them lock horns with senior officials and also frequent the various courts over a range of issues — hawkers and their uncontrolled proliferation in Greater Mumbai as well as a petition to ensure that open spaces are preserved and not converted under the guise of slum rehabilitation scheme.

It was the latter that raised its ugly head recently by attempting to scare them and thwart their efforts. Clarifying their stand, they say that the petition does not challenge slum rehabilitation projects in areas other than public spaces.

“We simply want the public space reserved for gardens and parks to remain as the city is already suffering from extreme congestion and overcrowding,” they say.

Despite all the frustrations and prolonged legal wrangles, the duo and their comrades — mostly middle-aged, upper middle-class women and men like themselves — have won numerous battles in the endless war to preserve Mumbai’s shrinking open spaces.

Among other achievements, they have helped resurrect dilapidated public maidans, forced the BMC to begin clearing footpaths and regulate hawkers,  and stopped the government from allowing buildings to be constructed on land reserved for public open spaces.

Their effort to preserve Mumbai’s shrinking open space has also
made them appeal to every residents’ association of the 24 municipal wards to join in the larger cause.

According to both Kathpalia and Punj, “A common index to judge the adequacy of open spaces in a city is the ratio of open areas per 1,000 citizens. The ideal ratio is 4 acres per 1,000. London and New York are between 6 and 8 acres respectively. In contrast, the situation in Mumbai is dismal — it has only 0.03 acres of open space available per 1,000.”

CitiSpace is looked upon and sought after for guidance and help by residents’ groups spread across the city. It now has over 600 members comprising resident associations, NGOs, trade establishments and individuals who are consulted by the citizens each time the issue of open space arises in the city.

For Mumbai-born Kathpalia, a trained librarian who spent over a decade in New Delhi with her husband and two children, and worked as a volunteer for the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), it was the plight of the heritage structure and the urban mess she saw around her city of birth that coaxed her to don the role of an activist.

“It’s the need to improve the quality of life that makes me take on every hurdle as a challenge towards achieving the goal,” says Kathpalia.

A similar urge propelled Punj, who had shifted base to the city along with her three children after living in Singapore for many years, to take up the cause with utmost seriousness.

Having seen the earlier chaos of Singapore and how political will changed it into a world-class city, Punj couldn’t bear to see the mess Mumbai was heading towards and the apathy of the people, which was making it far worse.

In many ways, the duo didn’t choose activism but activism chose them. Either way, it was the obvious choice.