At the centre of a controversy is Citipark on the main Central Avenue where residents said that the new project has taken over the broad pavements adjoining its property and has now barricaded a long stretch

Mumbai: Residents of Powai’s Hiranandani Gardens have complained that public footpaths, which have existed since the township was built, have been barricaded by new redevelopment building projects and turned into private properties.At the centre of a controversy is Citipark on the main Central Avenue where citizens said that the new project has taken over the broad pavements adjoining its property and has now barricaded a long stretch. The new property is being redeveloped by Brookfield.Brookfield, now BGRE, however, maintains that the pavement in question forms part of its property. “All works are being undertaken in accordance with the requisite statutory approvals,” said a spokesperson of BGRE.But residents contend that if the land on which people have walked for decades is indeed privately owned, how was Central Avenue, one of Powai’s busiest commercial streets, approved without provision of public footpaths?In an email sent to municipal authorities on August 7, Powai Action Forum member Ratan Sharda said residents had been told that municipal records showed the pavement outside Citipark is a part of Brookfield’s property. Additionally, he alleged that flowerpots had also been placed on the pavement on the opposite side of the road and that residents were informed that walkway too belonged to Brookfield.“Does it mean that the BMC passed this crucial commercial street without any footpaths on either side?” Sharda asked in the letter. He pointed out that residents had been using the pavements for at least 25 years and questioned whether the BMC could have sanctioned the layout of the township’s commercial street without providing pedestrian space.Debi Goenka, an environmentalist, demanded that whilst as per Supreme Court’s order, the BMC needs to construct pavements on both sides of every road for pedestrians, this was a situation where existing pavements were being taken away and pedestrians forced to walk on the road.In a separate representation addressed to municipal commissioner Ashwini Bhide, members of the Powai Advanced Locality Management (ALM) Pamela Cheema cited that the pavement outside Citipark had been barricaded, leaving no space for pedestrians; that the footpath outside Ambrosia was completely obstructed; and that the pavement adjoining the Lakepoint project had also been barricaded too. They have asked the civic body to restore these stretches for pedestrian use.“We also need the BMC and the MMRDA to have a public meeting with the residents and clarify the details of the plans approved by them,” added Goenka. “In the interim, in conformity with the orders of the Supreme Court regarding road safety, the BMC must direct the builders to immediately restore the pavements to the public.”