Urban development planning needs to be revamped, say town planners

Mumbai, June 30 (UNI) Urban development policy of the State needs to be revamped in order to do away with periodic monsoon menace, according to environmentalists and town planners.

Well-known town planner of Mumbai, Chandrasekhar Prabhu said, widening of nullah's and storm water drains alone could not solve the problem of water logging, and if this menace is not solved, the city may face worse situations, he warned.

''There is an urgent need to revamp the entire policy of urban development,'' he said.

He blamed the Government for softening its stand on Floor Space Index (FSI) which has prompted indiscriminate construction resulting in shrinking of wetlands and water bodies of the city.

''Where will the rain water go, if water bodies are reclaimed in the name of development?'' he questioned.

Another environmentalist Debi Goenka said, ''This question should be posed to all the politicians who are holidaying abroad and nourishing dreams of turning Mumbai into Shanghai.'' ''Wetlands in the city are being encroached for indiscriminate urbanisation. The water from storm water drains will have no place to go if water bodies are reclaimed everywhere, said Goenka adding that the problem of water logging was not as severe ten years ago as it is now, he added.

UNI