udri tweet feed
3:08 PM May 30
The revised #Mumbai #DevelopmentPlan is out & U need to pay attn! #PlanYourMumbai #Mumbaikar http://www.mcgm.gov.in/irj/portal/anonymous/qlddevplan
12:35 PM May 30
RT@OfficialYUVA #MCGM has uploaded the Revised Draft #Development Plan 2034 on http://www.mcgm.gov.in/irj/portal/anonymous/qlddevplan to provide #suggestions and #objections. @UDRI_Mumbai
6:08 PM 31 May
There is no clarity on what is the fate of #Mumbai #slums. They continue to be treated with contempt #PlanYourMumbai
2:18 PM 7 Jun
“50 DAYS TO AFFECT MUMBAI FOR 18 YRS @TheHindu
UDRI welcomes all to its Fort office to study the new #MumbaiDP”
Late last month, the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) released its revised draft development plan, ‘Report on the Draft Development Plan 2034’. The report can be accessed on the MCGM website, and is open to public suggestions, objections and comments for the next 50 days.
But while most Mumbaikars know to some extent what a DP is, not enough citizens engage with the people who create it, or attempt to influence it.
Consider this: the Development Plan 2034, Mumbai’s urban planning blueprint for the next two decades, will affect every aspect of our life, not just huge infrastructure projects but even the things that touch our lives intimately, like education and healthcare.
But are we asking the tough questions? Like who is this plan for, and by whom? How connected are we with the policies that affect us?
Who knows best what’s good for us?
The Urban Design Research Institute (UDRI) has opened up its office to citizens who wish to study the Proposed Land Use maps under the DP. It has made large printed copies of these available, and will also share its observations, research and analysis with stakeholder groups over the next few weeks.
Pankaj Joshi, Executive Director, UDRI, says: “In other cities, I don’t think they care — when did the plan come, when did it get implemented, who objected? — there’s no awareness in that sense.” In Mumbai, though, 250-odd voluntary organisations are keenly scanning the document for sector-specific issues: health, education, livelihood, finance, environment and open spaces. Citizens have come to the UDRI office to look at the maps, and several organisations are running the proposals past their members, he says. The Bombay Catholic Sabha, for instance, is taking these through all their parishes. “Every project has to go through this churning of people’s opposition and suggestions, which is good,” he says. “It will be successful if [the MCGM] can maximise the suggestions and objections. And it is left to us organisations to see how we activate these.”
Citizens’ participation was strong in earlier drafts of this plan. Errors relating to land use — like heritage structures missing, non-existent roads — were quickly pointed out and pilloried. The errors generated considerable mistrust, and disconnect with citizens. And the DP came in for criticism for not addressing affordable housing and open spaces. Following vociferous objections, the MCGM scrapped the DP 2015-34 last year.
While the corporation has made efforts to work on the plan, errors and omissions persist; advocacy groups say some previous suggestions haven’t been taken into consideration ( see box ), and the disconnect hasn’t quite disappeared. Mr. Joshi says, “Every time you put out a plan, if there’s a serious goof-up and it keeps continuing, then a question needs to be asked: how do we stop this?”
Rather than a lack of seriousness on the corporation’s part, Mr. Joshi attributes it to flawed internal processes: “It boils down to the fact that capacities are weak. Let’s not forget that the amount of work they have to put in to generate this is phenomenal.” But he believes it’s also because of the MCGM’s top-down approach. A lot of suggestions and information have gone to the local authority but, in its wisdom, it thinks this is not the information it should be incorporating. “The whole process in Maharashtra has been one of, ‘ Chalo, tum bolo (All right, have your say). That doesn’t mean we are supposed to take you seriously or implement it. We’re supposed to give you a hearing, and we’re doing that under a democratic process.” Bluntly: it’s the prerogative of the government to decide the greater good.
But any problem in a democracy will require a larger democratisation of processes, he adds. “You can’t go the other way, and make it autocratic.” Mr. Joshi believes ward committees, organisations and political representatives need to be involved more in decision-making.
People-friendly planning starts with people-friendly information
“Citizens are not equipped to look at plans and comment on them,” says Ashok Ravat, president, Citizens’ Forum, G North. “The 74th Amendment to the Constitution envisaged a decentralisation but it’s not so in practice.” Mr. Ravat says that Mumbai needs vigilant citizens who know their area well and what development it needs and political muscle needs to be weakened. Citizens can direct growth towards constructive, rather than destructive processes, he says. “Politicians want to give increased FSI and exercise discretion; they keep approvals with them and make money out of them. Why give discretion to them or to the commissioner?”
Eventually, we need politicians who believe in the city, rather than be involved with vote banks. Nayana Kathpalia, founder trustee of advocacy group NAGAR, says, “The developer lobby runs this city, as it does every city in the world.”
“But there has to be a balance. More citizens’ groups have to be involved. Public pressure has worked in the case of open spaces, for instance. But it’s one tiring game.” But even a concerned, active citizen must deal with jargon, with documents that are not, to put it gently, people-friendly. “I don’t know what language they write in. There are long sentences that run into paragraphs, and start with ‘provided this’, whereas this’,” Ms. Kathpalia says. “It’s an uphill task to respond in 50 days. First, one has to understand nuances before we can respond. And then they release chapters in bits and pieces. Plans and maps are complicated, and are put-offs.”
Mr. Joshi of UDRI ruefully puts part of the blame on the average Indian’s disregard for maps: “It’s proven that people would rather ask a paanwallah for directions than look at a map. But we tell people it’s important that you look at them and see whether your properties or rights are being affected.”
The UDRI has asked the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to put up in local ward offices the sheets they have culled out, and to explain plans to their people. “Also, the maps are the English; translating them into Marathi and Hindi would be worthwhile,” he says.
For democracy to work, citizens must participate
Participation works both ways. It’s not always, or necessarily, the administration’s fault, says Indrani Malkani, Managing Trustee, V Citizens Action Network. In Mumbai, citizens feel they are experts on everything and the administration knows nothing. “That’s not a very comfortable situation to be in,” she says.
Contrary to the belief that the administration does want to work, Ms. Malkani says, “I work with them day in and day out, and I can say there are many good people there; more good than bad. But the bad ones are so bad that unfortunately, citizens fall into the trap and the cycle goes on.” The one thing they have got right in the making of the DP this time, is to take the assistant commissioners of various wards into confidence. “The one person who knows the ward inside out is the assistant commissioner. Ultimately, the deliverables are with the ward office. They know the citizens’ grievances, requirements, and what the area needs.”
Besides, the city’s advocacy groups come with varied interests, agendas and lobbies. And senior administrators, she says, are not fools. “They know that a certain suggestion is highly unlikely to be taken into consideration for implementation.” Citizens, she says, have to be realistic in their expectations. “They have to find a balance, and a degree of uniformity.”
Initiative, says Ms. Malkani, also has to come from citizens. “Why not go to your ward office? Try and see if the system works. If you don’t use a system, it will get creaky.” She also advocates a process of consultation, “without shaming the authorities,” and persistence. “When you give a suggestion, don’t lose interest. As citizens, prod them to correct it. Ask them to give you reasons for rejection, and to make the process transparent.”
6:09 PM 28 Jun
RT@bombaywallah Will mangroves and green areas disappear? Will Mumbai become a concrete jungle @UDRI_Mumbai #MumbaiDP
6:07 PM 28 Jun
RT@bombaywallah A presentation by @UDRI_Mumbai on Development Plan draws a packed house concerned about where Mumbai is heading ½
6:43 PM 28 Jun
@bombaywallah @UDRI_Mumbai The Oct 2006 mangrove order was an incomplete docu that has harmed ordinary ppl n the PIL still continues in 2016
6:47 PM 28 Jun
@bombaywallah @UDRI_Mumbai #MumbaiDP 34 has been crafted in the backyard by some of the extortionists masquerading in the name of #BMC
11:40 AM 5 Jul
We’ve only got till JULY 27 to object/suggest changes on BMC’s revised #MumbaiDP Log on NOW! http://bit.ly/29eR7jt
4:27 PM 5 Jul
What’s the Area of #Mumbai anyway?
SRDP : 1991 Sanctioned DP
EDDP: 2015 draft plan (scrapped)
RDDP: Revised new plan
11:55 AM 7 Jul
Critical coastal #buffers set for reclamation in richest/ priciest zone of #Mumbai? We need an #explanation!
3:39 PM 8 Jul
Is the #Mumbai DP really making us more inclusive? Will we really have #affordable #housing for all at this rate?
