Mumbai: After successfully creating and inaugurating a 3.5-acre urban forest in Marol, comprising indigenous trees, shrubs, and bushes along the streets and utility corridors, the BMC plans to expand the project. The World Resource Institute, India (WRI) has already submitted a draft plan to the corporation for phases 2 and 3 for the Marol Urban Forest and Conservation Park, with the total estimated cost of Rs 21 crore.
The land parcels for the urban forest at Marol is owned by the BMC and Marol Cooperation Industrial Estate (MCIE). The 1-km-long urban forest along the Mithi River aims to control land surface temperature and mitigate river flooding.
“A meeting with WRI India was held recently. They have submitted a draft plan for the next phase of the Marol urban forest. The draft will be studied by the concerned BMC departments, including the Development Plan, Gardens, Environment departments and others. With inputs from all stakeholders, the final plan will be made,” said a senior BMC officer.
As per the draft plan, the next phase of the urban forest will have layers of forest guild, with 51,500 total number of saplings. The plantations include aquatic plants, grasses, shrubs, tall trees, crown trees, bamboo etc. The facilities would include a public plaza, sensor sensor-friendly environment for visitors with disabilities, multilingual signage, educational materials and nature walkways among others.
The first phase of the urban forest was officially inaugurated by the Mumbai suburban guardian minister and local MLA Ashish Shelar last month. It has 100 species of trees like bamboo, mango, jackfruit, papaya, banyan and peepal trees, and variety of shrubs and medicinal herbs.
Minister Shelar had underlined the importance of citizen participation in developing urban forest parks across Mumbai, saying such green spaces could reduce temperatures in the city by 3-4°C over the next five years. Phase 1 was funded by the District Planning and Development Committee and executed by the BMC.
