Overview
- The Urban Development Department proposes a 295-acre (8,55,198 sq m) Central Park in Mumbai, modeled on major UK and US parks to attract tourists.
- Minister Uday Samant assures there will be no commercialisation of open space and says plans for a sports complex remain undecided.
- The government will brief all Mumbai legislators, invite written suggestions, and convene a meeting in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
- Legislators and more than 100 architects and planners warn that parts of the site are water beds and say concrete or underground works within one kilometre of the coast could harm water percolation and the environment.
- A helipad at the coastal road jetty is proposed via a PPP with Raymond Limited’s aviation arm for VIP movements and emergency public use, with revenue to the BMC, as a dispute continues over whether an opposition letter required individual signatures.