Mumbai, Controversy erupted on Friday over the Mahalaxmi Central Park project in the city with Shiv Sena MLA Aaditya Thackeray opposing the plan and rival Shiv Sena leader Milind Deora countering his criticism.
Thackeray, a former Maharashtra minister, said in a post on X that the existing open space of the Mahalaxmi Race Course should not be “concretised” and commercialised for private benefit.
The project, which received the state cabinet’s nod in 2024 when Eknath Shinde was chief minister, contemplates a central park with a 10 lakh sq feet underground sports complex beneath it.
Thackeray also objected to the proposed astro-turfing of Colaba’s Back Garden, asserting that playgrounds used by local residents and schoolchildren must remain natural mud grounds and should not be “concretised or artificially turfed”.
Countering him, Rajya Sabha MP Milind Deora said the project aims to create India’s largest urban green zone by combining 125 acres of existing parkland with 175 acres of reclaimed Coastal Road land, forming a 300-acre green lung for the city.
The surface would remain fully green with features such as a botanical garden, topiary garden and a dense city forest, ensuring biodiversity and open access, he said.
The proposed underground sports complex would preserve the green cover above while providing modern sports infrastructure for the city’s youth, Deora said, adding that the project strikes a balance between development and environmental sustainability with provisions for groundwater recharge and flood mitigation.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation was open to constructive suggestions to improve the project, he said, adding that Mumbai deserves a world-class Central Park on the lines of London and New York.
In a swipe at Thackeray, Deora said leaders like him have the privilege of access to spaces such as Balasaheb Thackeray national memorial for personal recreation, but lakhs of ordinary Mumbaikars do not have expansive open areas in their neighbourhoods.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.