Byculla museum extension: Shiv Sena vows to retain open spaces

The Shiv Sena, the largest party in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), has jumped into the ongoing controversy over the construction of an extension of the Bhau Daji Lad Museum, declaring it will ensure that locals are not deprived of open spaces.

As reported in dna earlier, the BMC and the trust managing the museum are planning to construct a Rs 200-crore extension building using two plots adjacent to the existing museum premises. One of the plots, located along Dr BA Road in Byculla, is being used by children to play. This plot is expected to be converted into a landscape garden with a parking facility beneath it. The plots concerned are reserved in the development plan only as open space presently.

"We are okay with the plan to have a state-of-the-art extension building. But we will not let the open spaces go out of the public's hand. Since there is no reservation for the plots, we will push the BMC to tag the one used for playing purposes as a playground while the corporation revises the development plan for the next two decades," said Yashodhar Phanase, standing committee chairman and Shiv Sena corporator from Versova.

Phanase, however, said the Sena is okay with the idea of having parking facility beneath the plot. "There is a dearth of parking space. If underground facility is developed there, it will facilitate parking for the entire museum and zoo area. A playground as well as underground parking facility can co-exist," the corporator said.

Locals, headed by the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, have been opposing the plan to use the open spaces for developing the building, saying it will rob locals of breathing space.