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Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
BMC's climate budget: old wine in a new bottle?
Mumbai: Jumping on the World Environment Day bandwagon, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Thursday put their money where their mouth is, announcing a ₹17,000-crore 'climate budget' for the city. The civic body claimed that 37% of its capital expenditure budget will go towards 'climate-allied' activities. These include a wide range of things, from the biomining of the Deonar dumping ground to electric buses for BEST and solar panels, along with the construction of toilets, water infrastructure, markets, homes for project-affected people (PAP), and new fire brigade stations, among others. The BMC has increased its climate budget from last year's ₹10,224.24 crore by including the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) and seven more departments within it. Most of the activities listed in the budget are old BMC plans due to their effect on climate change. In March 2024, the BMC also created a new environment and climate change department. Claiming that its actions are working, the BMC also released data for greenhouse gas emissions till 2022-23, which showed a decrease from 2019-20 figures, but an increase from the Covid years in between. The BMC's climate spending takes its Mumbai Climate Action Plan (MCAP), launched in 2022, as its benchmark. The plan is a strategic framework to make Mumbai climate-resilient and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. However, the ambit of the climate budget is wide. On the one hand, it concentrates on mitigating climate change, which would reduce greenhouse gas emissions. On the other hand, it also focuses on increasing the resilience of the city's population to the effects of climate change, i.e. adaptation. This gives the BMC a wide remit of activities to include under its climate spends. For instance, under unquantifiable actions taken, some of the activities listed include building toilets and installing sanitary napkin vending machines and incinerators in public toilets; laying water pipelines, constructing storage tanks, a new water treatment plant and a desalination plant to improve water supply; stabilisation of hill slopes to reduce disaster risk; concessions for BEST bus tickets to those with disabilities; laying sewer lines; new healthcare facilities; improvement of footpaths, construction and maintenance of foot-over-bridges; a transportation and commercial hub at Dahisar Check Naka, municipal markets, PAP homes for the Goregaon Mulund Link Road project; and even a swimming pool and sports complex. Environmentalists, who are not new to challenging the BMC, were sceptical of the lofty budget. 'How to destroy the climate for 364 days, and how to plan for correcting the destruction for one day: that is the crux of the BMC's climate action plan,' said Zoru Bhathena, an environmental activist. 'The budget doesn't mention anything new that the civic body shouldn't already be doing,' said Debi Goenka, executive trustee of the nonprofit Conservation Action Trust. 'Setting up LED lights was introduced 10 years ago. Why is it newly added in the budget? BEST has already placed orders for EV buses that have not been delivered yet, so it is the same thing repeating. Many measures that could be taken up are severely lacking, including simple things like adding solar panels at bus depots. All this while the BMC is continuing to cut trees rampantly.' Sumaira Abdulali, founder of the NGO Awaaz Foundation, concurred. 'The number of trees being cut for infrastructure projects will not be covered in the greening of islands that they have taken up,' she said. 'As per the climate budget report, the PM 2.5 and PM 10 levels have come down to about 85 on average. Averaging out the winter numbers with the whole year will definitely bring it down. That doesn't mean the pollution is less. Regulation of the construction sites doesn't need a different budget. There just has to be proper enforcement of the AQI norms,' she added.
Mint
20-05-2025
- Climate
- Mint
‘15 mins of rains causing mayhem': Viral videos from Mumbai show massive waterlogging on roads in Andheri
Mumbai rains: With heavy rains lashing Mumbai and adjoining cities on Tuesday evening, several social media users took to micro-blogging site X to share videos of heavily waterlogged streets in Andheri and Saki Naka. Though rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning brought some relief from the rising temperatures, it slowed down road traffic at several places including the Western Express Highway. Viral videos showed people wading through knee-deep water at Old Nagardas Road in Andheri. One of the videos from a fruit market showed shopkeepers struggling to keep fruits safe from the flooded street. "Little bit of Mumbai rains and we have water logging at Old Nagardas road, Andheri East," said an X user. "#MumbaiRains 15 mins of rains causing mayhem at nagardas road #andheri east," said another user tagging BMC. Meanwhile, social activist Zoru Bhathena also took a swipe at Brihanmumbai Municipal corporation (BMC) over waterlogging at Andheri Subway. "Hello My BMC. May we suggest you'll install a sign at both ends of Andheri Subway "THIS IS A DRAIN USE DURING DRY WEATHER ONLY"...This sign will fix the save Mumbaikars a few hundred crores too," said Bhathena in a post on X. A video shared by an X user named Sagar Shah showed accumulation of garbage after waterlogging at Saki Naka. 'This is Mumbai? Saki Naka as of now is an overflowing gutter! Please help. We deserve better!.' 'This is Mumbai's world famous Naka,' said another user retweeting the video. Slamming BMC over the situation, an X user named Tanmay Tamhane said that this was not even the proper monsoon rains and such pathetic situation was everywhere in Mumbai. Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) for the next four days with light to moderate rainfall. 'Thunderstorm accompanied by lightning, light to moderate rainfall and gusty winds (40-50 kmph) are likely at isolated places,' said the weather department in its forecast for the maximum city. Parts of Maharashtra may witness heavy rain with thunder and gusty winds between May 21 and 24 following a cyclonic circulation which is likely to form over the east-central Arabian Sea off the Karnataka coast, the Met department said.
Mint
20-05-2025
- Climate
- Mint
‘15 mins of rains causing mayhem': Viral videos from Mumbai show massive waterlogging on road in Andheri
Mumbai rains: With rains lashing Mumbai and adjoining cities on Tuesday evening, several social media users took to micro-blogging site X to share videos of heavily waterlogged streets in Andheri. Viral videos showed people wading through knee-deep water at Old Nagardas Road in Andheri. One of the videos from a fruit market showed shopkeepers struggling to keep fruits safe from the flooded street. "Little bit of Mumbai rains and we have water logging at Old Nagardas road, Andheri East," said an X user. "#MumbaiRains 15 mins of rains causing mayhem at nagardas road #andheri east," said another user tagging BMC. Meanwhile, social activist Zoru Bhathena also took a swipe at Brihanmumbai Municipal corporation (BMC) over waterlogging at Andheri Subway. "Hello My BMC. May we suggest you'll install a sign at both ends of Andheri Subway "THIS IS A DRAIN USE DURING DRY WEATHER ONLY"...This sign will fix the save Mumbaikars a few hundred crores too," said Bhathena in a post on X. A video shared by X user Sagar Shah showed the street flooded with garbage. 'This is Mumbai? Saki Naka as of now is an overflowing gutter! Please help. We deserve better!,' he asked. 'This is Mumbai's world famous Naka,' said another user retweeting the video. Slamming BMC over the situation, X user Tanmay Tamhane said that this is not even the proper monsoon rains and such pathetic situation is everywhere in Mumbai. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) for the next four days with light to moderate rainfall. 'Thunderstorm accompanied by lightning, light to moderate rainfall and gusty winds (40-50 kmph) are likely at isolated places,' said the weather department in its forecast for the maximum city. Parts of Maharashtra may witness heavy rain with thunder and gusty winds between May 21 and 24 following a cyclonic circulation which is likely to form over the east-central Arabian Sea off the Karnataka coast, the Met department said. Met department official Shubhangi Bhute said rainfall activity over Maharashtra may increase between May 21 and May 24 under the influence of the cyclonic circulation.
Time of India
11-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
BKC's cycle tracks to make way for traffic
Mumbai: Even before their full completion, BKC's cycle tracks are set to go. has floated tenders for Rs 25 crore for dismantling of the tracks and shifting of utilities as part of an ambitious plan to decongest and widen roads across the business district. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The plan has drawn criticism from the cycling community and activists.A plan for 13km cycle tracks in BKC's G-block was sanctioned in 2011. Construction began the following year and 9km was built till 2021, with total expenditure touching Rs 60 said the tracks, however, have been underused and traffic on BKC's roads has grown manifold. The arterial roads, especially Bandra-Kurla Link Road from Kalanagar junction to Bharat Diamond Bourse, see a daily traffic volume of 6 lakh. Sion bridge's closure has worsened the situation, funnelling more heavy vehicles through BKC's relatively narrow find a way out of this, MMRDA has devised twin strategies: converting cycle tracks—some 2.7m wide —into additional vehicular lanes and implementing a one-way traffic system on internal roads. The cycle tracks' merger will increase lane capacity by nearly 50%, and MMRDA estimates that nearly 10 minutes of peak-hour travel time can be shaved off. "This realignment will help balance space according to actual usage," said and official. Signal wait times are also expected to drop from 10 minutes to 7 minutes, and CO₂ emissions could reduce by over 30% during peak idling hours due to reduced fuel Iyer, neurosurgeon and 'bicycle mayor of Mumbai', blamed the cycle tracks' poor alignment for the underwhelming response to them. "They neither covered the entire business district nor offered seamless connectivity. They started and ended abruptly, lacking links to key entry points like Kurla and Bandra. The space was soon encroached upon by parked bikes and taxis."Zoru Bhathena, a civic activist, questioned the additional burden of dismantling the tracks. "They were barely used and ended up looking more like a showpiece. The concept was good, but the execution was flawed."
Hindustan Times
05-05-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
Carmichael road residents fight for a children's park
The Residents of Carmichael Road on Sunday got together at a meeting to chalk out a plan to save a privately-owned green cover plot from going under development. The residents claim that over one acre of land which houses several trees, some of which are over 100-year-old, was originally reserved for a children's park. According to the residents, the Brihanmumbai Municipal corporation (BMC) had to pay a conveyance to the owner and build a park, but they did not do so and instead, the land went under litigation. The land parcel has been sold by the Parsi owners to Mah-hill properties, a real estate company. 'Now that the builders have taken it, we are not sure what will happen to the land, but there should be a children's park here if this was the designated spot. The Carmichael road and the surrounding places do not have a designated open space in the area,' said Pervin Sanghavi, founder of Friends of Malabar Hills, a resident association which advocates for open spaces. However, as per the development plan 2034 made under Maharashtra regional town planning act, the plot's status was changed and earmarked as a residential place. The residents are concerned about harming the biodiversity. Further, they also highlighted the hazards of construction taking place in a landslide prone area. 'When a landslide took place five years back, a survey was conducted which said more trees should be planted to hold the land together. If they tear down so many trees and take up construction it could cause more hazards,' said another resident. 'We will find documents about the history of the plot and how the status of the plot was changed. Accordingly, plan our future actions. The plot comes under the coastal regulatory zone so there are several implications. We will try to find a solution,' said Zoru Bhathena, an activist.
