Mumbai’s public open space access shows sharp disparities across its administrative wards.

While satellite images paint Mumbai as a green city, the reality on the ground is stark: public open space ranges from 9.4 sq m per resident in A Ward to just 0.5 sq m in B Ward, exposing sharp disparities in access to parks across the city’s 24 administrative wards. To put this in perspective, residents of A Ward have nearly a parking space’s worth of public open space each, while those in B Ward have barely enough room to stand.The finding is in the report Public Open Space Mapping and Management Strategy for Mumbai by the Urban Design Research Institute (UDRI) and NAGAR (NGO Alliance for Governance and Renewal).

Why your ward determines access to open space.

Per capita public open space was calculated using the combined area of Existing Open Spaces (EOS) and Reserved Open Spaces (ROS) in DP 2034 against each ward’s 2011 Census population. The report found Mumbai currently has just 1.28 sq m of existing open space per person, far below the DP 2034 target of 4 sq m.The report distinguishes between EOS and ROS earmarked under the Development Plan, noting that even EOS figures do not necessarily reflect actual public access.The study found several existing open spaces remain partly or wholly inaccessible due to encroachments, restrictions, private ownership or limited public access, meaning usable recreational space may be lower than official figures suggest. For instance, a private club in Andheri is marked as a public recreational space despite restricted access, while a school playground in Malad is shown as a public playground even though the public cannot use it.Anuradha Parmar, executive director, UDRI, says, “While acquiring new reserved open spaces remains a challenge, there is no justification for leaving existing ones unusable. The fastest way to increase the city’s usable open space is to urgently channel BMC funds, much of which go unspent each year, towards developing already acquired but neglected open spaces. Equally important is ensuring that every Existing Open Space (EOS) has access through a road formally demarcated in the DP, protecting these spaces from private encroachment.”The report says the island city averages 2.94 sq m of public open space per person, though disparities remain. In the suburbs, the average drops to 1.05 sq m. M East (Govandi), L (Kurla) and H East (Kalina) wards have the poorest access, with 0.6 sq m, 0.6 sq m and 0.7 sq m per capita, respectively. According to the report, these wards face multiple constraints, including high slum density.Nayana Kathpalia, trustee, UDRI and NAGAR, said while every ward has its own challenges and historical legacy, redevelopment in some of Mumbai’s densest neighbourhoods offers a rare opportunity to rethink public spaces and shared amenities. “We need to stop viewing redevelopment as merely a real estate exercise and start treating it as a once-in-a-generation chance to create more open spaces,” she said.Parul Kumtha, also a trustee fromNAGAR, said Mumbai has another major opportunity with the creation of large new public open spaces. “Connecting underserved neighbourhoods to large city-wide assets like the Coastal Road gardens and Mahalaxmi Racecourse is key to expanding equitable access to green spaces.”Reacting to the report, Sunil Rathod, chief engineer of the DP department, said the 4 sq m per capitatarget will be achieved gradually as reserved open spaces are acquired and developed. “Since outright land purchase is not financially feasible, the BMC relies on planning tools under the DCPR, including TDR and redevelopment, while acquiring land where there is a clear public need.”

Thane: A Mulund-based man and his family have been booked for allegedly instigating his wife to commit suicide, following which she jumped to her death from a local train between Kalwa and Mumbra in Nov 2025.According to the Thane railway police, which has registered the case, the couple married in 2023 and delivered a child last July. The woman’s father, who is based in central Mumbai, told the police in his complaint that after delivery, his daughter developed severe behavioural changes and was subsequently diagnosed with postpartum psychosis.“She became withdrawn, stopped eating properly, and had difficulty feeding and caring for the baby and was taken to a psychiatrist, who cautioned us family to not leave her alone. As her condition worsened, we admitted her to a Mumbai hospital for nine days for treatment. My son-in-law and his family were aware of her illness, but despite this, they repeatedly threatened my daughter to send her to my home if she did not recover soon, which apparently pushed her into depression. On Nov 10, she left home saying she was going to a temple but never returned. Later, I was informed that she was hit by a train between Kalwa and Mumbra stations,” said the complainant.The case was initially registered as an accidental railway death, but after the father met the railway police seeking a probe, he was told his daughter had jumped out of the train.Subsequently, community members urged the man to not pursue the case, citing the future of his grandchild. However, mustering courage, the man finally lodged a complaint against his son-in-law and his parents, accusing them of abetment to suicide of his daughter.“We have booked the trio and are investigating the case further,” said senior inspector Dharmendra Aware at the Thane railway police.

Mumbai: A viral video from the CJP protest at Shivaji Park on Thursday, showing a policeman allegedly inappropriately touching a woman protester, stirred up a fresh controversy on Friday, with the opposition demanding his dismissal. The police, however, dismissed the charges levelled against the policeman, saying there was no act of misconduct by the officer seen in the footage.DCP (operations) Akbar Pathan said, “The official was trying to hold on to a male protester and a lady stepped in while he was looking away. Senior officers have verified all the facts and minutely assessed the video to ascertain the facts,” he said. Another police official said, “Since the video went viral late Thursday night, our senior cyber crime experts carefully zoomed in on the footage, verified it, and found that there was no misconduct.”The controversy came a day after another viral video showed a police constable, who was working as a driver, allegedly threatening young protesters that drugs would be planted on them and their career would be ruined if they continued participating in protests.The latest video quickly went viral on social media, with several opposition politicians demanding action against the policeman. Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal demanded an apology from CM Devendra Fadnavis and dismissal of the policeman. In a post on X, Sapkal said, “The one who calls himself Devabhaau has turned out to be Duryodhan! Devabhaau’s police have become so rogue that they are violating the modesty of female students the age of their own daughters.” Mumbai Congress president and MP Varsha Gaikwad said, “What happened to a girl during the protest in Mumbai is deeply painful and disturbing. It is wrong to speak of the ‘Ladki Bahin’ scheme while treating young women in such a manner. It is a matter of shame that women are allegedly being mistreated in the land of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. False cases are being registered against students, and they are being threatened.”Congress has organised statewide candlelight marches and ‘satyagraha’ in Maharashtra on Saturday to express solidarity with the protesting students.

Mumbai: The state govt on Friday told Bombay high court that immersion of plaster of paris (PoP) idols in natural water bodies like rivers, lakes and seas can be stopped in a phased manner.“It cannot happen overnight or by a knee-jerk reaction. It has to be done consensually and not by law,” advocate general Milind Sathe told Justices Ajey Gadkari and Kamal Khata.The HC was hearing a PIL to enforce Central Pollution Control Board’s May 2020 revised guidelines that banned PoP idols. Last year, after CPCB clarified its guidelines were advisory, HC as per the state’s Aug 1, 2025 guidelines allowed above 6ft idols to be immersed in natural water bodies.Sathe said, “Allow us this year.” The judges referred to a suggestion by senior advocate S M Gorwadkar, for PoP artisans’ body from Thane, that religious ritual of immersion may be performed symbolically by touching the idol’s feet to the water and thereafter the local authority transport it to a facility for disposal, preservation, storage or recycling. “It will resolve everything,” said Justice Gadkari.But, Sathe said, “Physically it is not possible to implement. This is a reality of life. It has been going on for more than 100 years.” He said even if PoP is replaced with clay, which is not easily available, “it will be adverse to the sub-soil and have a huge impact on the environment.” He said as per 2025 data, 2,500 metric tonne clay residue was collected in Mumbai.Justice Khata asked, “Is there a solution the state can adopt in the larger interest of future generations?” Sathe informed that in Mumbai, there was an increase in clay idols and less than 6ft PoP idols. Totally, 1,11,641 were immersed in artificial tanks. He said 4,149 idols above 6 ft in were immersed in natural water bodies compared to 7,863 in 2024. Sathe said this indicates “success” of the state’s guidelines. “See the result in one year! See how many idols are not going into the natural water bodies! Is it not a step in the right direction?” Sathe asked. He said results have to be seen for “another 2-3 years.” The hearing will continue on Monday.

File pic of Kanjurmarg dumping ground

Mumbai: Bombay High Court has directed BMC to submit a report within 15 days to Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) on the host of compliances the latter had sought to prevent odour from the Kanjurmarg waste management facility. It has also instructed BMC to adopt urgent measures to ensure streets, bylanes and pavements across the city are garbage free.A bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Aarti Sathe, in the July 15 order available on Thursday, said the “issue of particulate matters, is one of the important concerns which the MPCB needs to monitor on a day-to-day basis and with its 24-hour monitoring mechanism”. MPCB said it has already implemented round-the-clock monitoring. The HC was hearing a petition on the issue of health hazards that local residents in the vicinity of the Kanjurmarg dumping ground and an NGO had raised.Expressing concern at the rise in plastic pollution and waste entering the sea, the HC called for urgent “grassroots level” measures, saying “without these issues of accumulation, collection, and disposal of solid waste, BMC would be confronted with a nuisance, which is self-inflicted by the residents of the city who are reckless and negligent on maintaining the basic civic expectations.”“A mechanism for systematic storage and collection of garbage needs to be immediately implemented in all the wards,” the HC ordered.In a slew of other directions, the HC sought “strict vigil be maintained by the ward officers or any other machinery that may be deployed against persons dumping garbage, plastic waste on public streets, and pavements, and strict action be taken against such persons as the law would determine”.The HC called for CCTV cameras at places where people are prone to dumping wastes, and directed the “municipal commissioner to devise a mechanism to sensitise people against throwing garbage and plastic waste into the sea, open drains and water bodies”.The HC also directed installation of nets or narrows at the confluence of drains and the sea to prevent plastics from entering the sea.The HC also directed installation of nets or narrows at the confluence of drains and the sea to prevent plastics from entering the sea. “All open nullahs need to be closed, so that all the ill-effects of such public waste and garbage being dumped into these nullahs are avoided. It is the need of the hour that open nullahs are converted into proper piped drains,” the HC directed, and to ensure a healthy compliance urged BMC to publicise “no-garbage” wards and reward them.Citizens too must meticulously follow rules and not dump garbage indiscriminately into nullahs and on streets, said the court, adding that discipline from citizens is expected, and the day won’t be far then where Centre rewards Mumbai.The HC will hear the matter next on August 12.

Mumbai: At least 18 law colleges affiliated with Mumbai University have moved the Bombay High Court, challenging the university’s decision to substantially reduce their student intake for this year’s admissions, while also imposing penalties of up to Rs 10 lakh.The university’s management council decided to act against 50 of the 110 affiliated colleges for not having an approved principal or approved teachers on their rolls. Some of the 52 BEd colleges, which have faced similar action, have moved court too. Additionally, a public interest litigation (PIL) has also been filed opposing the university’s decision as it would lead to a loss of seats for students.While 16 law colleges filed a joint petition, two filed independently. On Friday, however, the court directed the 16 colleges to file independent petitions, as all of them had different issues. Some colleges claimed that they recently got the names of the university’s selection committee members for appointment of teachers and that they would require some time to fill the posts with approved teachers. They also mentioned that the university did not issue any warning before initiating the action. Some colleges claimed that they had earlier received affiliation certificates from the university, which are required for participating in the centralised admission process (CAP), but were later declared null and void.A university official, however, said that these colleges had given an undertaking last year that they would fulfill all the requirements and therefore, action was initiated this year, after they failed to do so. This is the first time the MU has taken such stringent action against affiliated colleges for failing to appoint approved teachers.While earlier last month, 30 colleges were debarred from this year’s admission process, they were later allowed to participate with a reduced intake and fine, in a notice issued on July 20. Thirty-nine law colleges were issued notices, slashing their intake capacity by 50% and imposition of a fine of Rs 10 lakh. In the second category, in 11 colleges, which have less than 50% approved teachers, the intake was slashed by 25% with a fine of Rs 5 lakh.While some of the B Ed colleges have decided to move court against the university’s decision, many have decided to pay the fine and join the admission process with the reduced intake. A principal said that the university initiated action just days before the admission process commenced. “If we wait for relief from the court, we will lose out on students for the 75% intake too. So our management has recommended taking the affiliation certificates with the reduced intake, as of now,” said the principal.