BMC house to take up controversial Siri Road project through Kamala Nehru Park on Oct 23

MUMBAI: A controversial proposal to widen Siri Road at Malabar Hill by using a portion of the land reserved for Kamala Nehru Park will come up for consideration at the BMC general body meeting on October 23, reviving concerns over the loss of green space and the impact on trees and water pipelines.

The meeting will consider a proposal seeking permission to construct and use a road on land designated as a recreation ground and reserved for Kamala Nehru Park, along Chiranjilal Loyalka Marg, popularly known as Siri Road.

The proposal seeks to open the existing stretch between Kamala Nehru Park on BG Kher Marg and Tambe Chowk to light four-wheelers. Civic officials had argued that widening the road could ease congestion on Walkeshwar Road, Teen Batti and BG Kher Road, while reducing travel time and fuel consumption.

However, the proposal had earlier faced opposition from the BMC’s Improvement Committee. In a resolution dated December 29, 2015, the committee recommended that it be shelved, citing the need to protect the historic park, the absence of traffic congestion at the location, the potential impact on trees and the risk of damaging water connections supplying South Mumbai. It also called for a geological survey of the site.