Mumbai: A storm of opposition is brewing among residents and citizen groups in South Mumbai over the recently published Revised Draft Development Plan (DP) 2041 for the Backbay Reclamation area. At the heart of the criticism are concerns about the apparent legitimization of illegal encroachments, shrinking green spaces, and questionable changes in land use designations, all under the guise of development.
Dr. Laura D’Souza, President of the Cuffe Parade Residents Association (CPRA), minced no words while slamming the new draft. “Rampant encroachments are being quietly passed off as legal residential zones,” she said. “This plan doesn’t fix urban issues—it buries them.” She cited plots 106, 107, and 108 along Captain Prakash Pethe Marg as examples—officially marked as gardens, but now fully encroached upon. Similarly, plot 97G, which doesn’t exist in the 2013 DP and was allegedly reclaimed illegally, now appears as residential land in the 2041 version, despite causing mangrove destruction.
Infrastructure stress is another issue compounding frustration in Cuffe Parade. “Parking is a nightmare,” D’Souza added, pointing to plots 88A and 88B lying vacant while half of plots 119A and 119B remain occupied—allegedly by GD Somani school in defiance of court orders. Even garden space (plot 118B) is reportedly taken over, while plot 105, once reserved for a garden near the sea, is now being allotted for a BMC school run by a private entity, JITO. CPRA has formally filed a petition against the land use change, challenging both its legality and implications.
Echoing these sentiments, the Nariman Point Churchgate Citizens Association (NPCCA) has demanded complete transparency in the form of a plot-wise disclosure of built-up areas. “Without knowing what’s being developed and where, how can the public provide informed feedback?” said Atul Kumar, NPCCA President. He also raised issues over the inconsistent use of land use nomenclature in the new DP compared to the 2034 version, warning it could result in misuse and misinterpretation.
The 2041 plan, which covers Blocks III to VI of the Backbay Reclamation Scheme (BBRS) across 237 hectares, aims to modernize an area with a tangled planning history dating back to 1920. The MMRDA, in 2023 directed by government of Maharashtra to do the statutory proceedings and therefore it has proposed the following land use allocations: 40.06 hectares for residential, 69.82 for commercial, and 127.14 for natural water bodies including mangroves.
Among the more ambitious proposals in the proposed land use are a Marina Bay and plaza designed to activate the seafront with walkways, fountains, and laser shows, a helipad to boost VIP transit, and reserved land near the Vidhan Bhavan for council hall extensions and a new police chowky. While these amenities aim to modernize the coastline, critics fear they come at the cost of open spaces and transparent governance.
“The plan, once envisioned as a blueprint for inclusive progress, now threatens to erode the city’s planning ethics,” said Dr. D’Souza. “Development cannot be a mask for regularizing illegality.
