jahangir art gallery

jahangir art gallery (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

DP shows Jehangir Art Gallery as vet hospital

MUMBAI: The clamour to scrap the draft development plan is growing, as every scrutiny reveals new errors. An NGO’s analysis of areas in south Mumbai in the DP found several landmarks were wrongly represented. A prominent landmark like Jehangir Art Gallery has been marked as a veterinary hospital, a heritage museum was marked as part of the recreational ground, while a historic church was shown as a commercial residential land use zone. The NGO, in a letter to the chief minister’s office, has demanded that the draft DP be scrapped.

The Watchdog Foundation conducted a detailed study of south Mumbai’s landmarks and found that not one or two, but several places of historic importance have been wrongly marked in the DP.

“Analysing the data we found several iconic places were wrongly marked. Jehangir Art Gallery, a platform for innumerable artists, was marked as a veterinary hospital while St Thomas Cathedral was shown as a commercial-residential zone,” said Godfrey Pimenta, trustee of Watchdog Foundation.

The wrong marking of iconic buildings was totally unacceptable, said Godfrey Pimenta, trustee of Watchdog Foundation.

“It’s also unfortunate that a park opposite the iconic Siddhivinayak temple, one of Mumbai’s most-frequented places, is marked as a metro station already. For a city that is losing green areas so rapidly this is just another blow,” said Pimenta.

The NGO has hence asked the CM’s office to intervene. “We will definitely write our objections over it to the municipal authorities which include the chief engineer DP and the municipal commissioner. But what is astonishing is that the authorities have managed to goof up marking so many important places. We are totally aghast and shocked with the casual and lackadaisical manner in which the planners have drafted the DP 2034,” said Pimenta.

Experts however said the authorities should look at increasing the time period to provide suggestions and objections over the draft DP 2034. Aarvind Unni, architect from the campaign Hamara Shahar Vikas Niyojan (HSVN) and a member of NGO Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action (YUVA) said they too have found that salt pans in the draft DP 2034 were shown as open spaces. “It’s very important to give people more time to submit their suggestions and objections. This would in turn help the municipal corporation, as locals living in a particular area would easily be able to point out the errors,” he said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Now-DP-shows-Jehangir-Art-Gallery-as-vet-hospital/articleshow/46809308.cms