Shriram Vernekar ... - Mumbai Architect

Chittaranjan Tembhekar | TNN

The difference is stark. It ini-tially took Rs 1.4 crore andRs 1.5 crore to develop theBandra Bandstand andCarter Road promenades,

respectively. Meanwhile, it took Rs 27crore to beautify Marine Drive. A glanceat these promenades reveals an anti-septic, mainly tiled stretch at MarineDrive, while lively, greened walkwayswind along the Bandra coast.

Officials of the government-runMMRDA insist that redeveloping the 3-km downtown promenade isn’t thesame as revamping the 1.2-km and 1.25-km neighbourly stretches in Bandra,but residents and experts say the icon-ic south Mumbai stretch has been giv-en a colourless facelift. Architect P KDas, who worked on the Bandra proj-ects, says the MMRDA needed to involvelocal residents more to give the worklife and colour.

There is an agreement that Phase IIof the revamp would help reflect thecharacter and life of the area, but noconcrete steps have been taken to im-plement it. Ratan Batliboi, architect forthe completed Phase I, says, “The bestpart of the makeover was Phase II, butI have no idea when it will take shape.”Phase II involves Art Deco restoration,an eco-walk, subways, amphitheatres,sunset point, underground parking,viewing decks, etc.

Residents remember a time whenthey had their own plan to revamp thepromenade, but the government steppedin with the grand Rs 127-crore plan, ofwhich only 21% (Rs 27 crore of PhaseI) has been implemented. Phase I main-ly involved creating a tiled footpath,some bus shelters and plant beds. TheRs 100-crore Phase II has now beenclubbed with the Nariman Point andCST makeovers, which are unlikely tosee the light of day in the near future..

A Marine Drive Council, compris-ing 13 different resident associations,was formed, but the residents are ig-nored even today, says Nayana Kath-palia, Marine Drive resident and co-convenor of NGO CitiSpace. “The res-idents are stakeholders of the project.Why is the state government linkingthe Marine Drive makeover to the Na-

riman Point makeover? We have beenhearing about the latter for ages and itremains a dream on paper,” says Kath-palia. “Marine Drive has a separatecharacter and life of its own and itsneeds are different from those of oth-er areas.” When Phase I started with-out the residents’ knowledge, theystopped work and petitioned the MM-RDA to get their suggestions noted.

“People know to speak about theirown area and, if involved in projects,can put life into them,” says Das. “AtMarine Drive, the Rs 27-crore tiledstretch reflects the mechanized uni-formity of any government construc-tion. What they have done so far does-n’t reflect the life, mood and characterof the area. It appears like a dry foot-path. If local people’s participation issought, they give alternatives and bet-ter ideas and the work reflects their de-sires and aspirations. There is no men-tion of the second phase.”

State officials say the governmentis scrutinizing presentations made byarchitects for the Nariman Pointmakeover. A few officials say that thedream to beautify the stretch along thelines of those in Miami or Singaporemay remain on paper.

Government sources say the 3-kmstretch has a bigger promenade and re-quired more tetrapods and other ma-terials than the Bandra facelifts. “Thesecond phase is more impressive andwould have made Marine Drive standapart from other promenades. But it isdelayed for now,” an official said.

Phase II involves getting environ-mental and heritage clearances, andthe BMC has not secured any. “We hopeto treat the road’s surface soon afterthe monsoon,” says Aseem Gupta, ad-ditional municipal commissioner.“However, looking at the scale of workfor the Nariman Point and CSTmakeovers, the scrutiny of plans willtake some time before a decision is tak-en on implementation.”

MMRDA completed Phase I in Feb-ruary 2008 and then abruptly decidedto hand over the project to the BMC.This, despite opposition from residents.MMRDA officials said BMC would bet-ter manage the work because under-ground utilities and heritage conser-vation are in the civic body’s purview.

Chittaranjan Tembhekar | TNN

Even as Marine Drive residentswant a say in the second andmore elaborate phase of the

stretch’s beautification, they con-tinue to have “absolutely now clue”about the project’s current status.

Chandresh Shah, president, Ma-rine Drive Residents’ Association,said that just last week, they had ap-pealed to the BMC officials to takeresidents into confidence if and whenthey plan to start work on the Rs 100-crore project.

“There has been no initiative orcommunication on this front fromthe BMC authorities since the pasttwo and half years,” he said.

When the first phase had kickedoff, residents had raised objectionsto a plan to reduce the footpath’ssize and create parking lots. Theyhad later protested and stoppedwork, and got the MMRDA to alterthe plans. “We had got it rectifiedlast time. We hope this time, theBMC does not repeat the mistake.It is really upsetting that by the timethe second phase starts, the firstwould have become very old.”

Shah also said that the proposedShivaji statue and memorial in thesea off Marine Drive would attracta huge crowd and, consequently,hawkers and other commercial in-terests. It may be recalled that chiefminister Prithviraj Chavan re-cently clarified the project wouldcome up off Marine Drive and notWorli. The state has already ap-pointed Team One Architect asconsultants for it.

“The promenade would become

a commercial hub with a huge in-crease in tourists flowing in. Thehawkers, cleanliness and securitywould then become major issues,”said Shah.

Anil Bhatia, former hockey play-er and honorary secretary of theMarine Drive Council, a unifiedbody of all the 13 residents associ-ations, said the state governmenthad formed the council for bettercoordination. “There are absoluteno open spaces between D Road,where I live, and Marine Lines sta-tion. There used to be open spaceswhen we were children but thesehave been converted into stadiums.The other gymkhanas and spacesare booked all the time for marriageparties,” he said. Girgaum residentssuch as Amit Matondkar point tothe lack of parking space, subways,toilets and other amenities.

Ratan Batliboi, the architect whodesigned the Marine Drivemakeover, said the project’s secondphase would beautify the stretchthe most. “I have absolutely no clueabout what the administration isdoing. There was never ever anycontroversy over the project. Actu-ally, by now, they should have start-ed the implementation.”

A former member of the herit-age committee said that if theauthorities maintain the aestheticsof the buildings along the MarineDrive, there would be no major hur-dle in getting clearances for the sec-ond phase. However, he said whileseeking CRZ and heritage clear-ances for amphitheatre or sunsetpoint, the authorities will have tobe very careful.

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The Gateway plaza hasthe potential to be

beautified in a muchsuperior way. I think thisinitiative should bepreferably undertaken byINTACH with the help ofan established heritageconservation architect.Relaying of paver blocks isa must, a car park will beconvenient, a lawn willadd to the visual delight.There should be 24-hoursecurity. — Bikram Banerjea

When abroad, I havealways seen how

passionately othercountries preserve,beautify and maintaintheir historical places. TheGateway makeover hasfallen way short ofexpectations. Genuineefforts must be made tobeautify the garden and

use kiosks for the intendedpurpose, and maintainthese. — Hemangi Sawant

A ‘drop-off zone’, whichis parallel to

Mahakavi Bhushan Marg(Adam’s Street), wascreated to ensure taxisand cars don’t stop in the middle of the road.Instead, the zone has beenturned into a car park forAC taxis and VIP cars. The original road has beennarrowed down to half itswidth. Innumerablecarriages, taxis and hugetourist buses are allowedto park, thereby blockinghalf the road. To makematters worse, a BEST busstop has been put up in acorner. Nowhere in theworld will you have a busstop without a pavement.— Cyrus Heerjee

We asked readers if the Gateway plazamakeover has fallen short of expectations.Should there be efforts to open the garden,increase parking, use kiosks properly andrelay paver blocks? Here are some of your replies:

COSMETIC IMPROVEMENT: The Marine Drive makeover lacks soul, feel many experts. This could have been avoided if residents were a bigger part of the project. Seen below are artistsketches of what the promenade was expected to look like. (Top left) A view of the stretch while work was in progress

DREAM ON: When the Marine Drive makeover was first announced in 2005, the MMRDA was supposed todeliver pockets of green patches at Chowpatty, a fountain with seawater, sleek street furniture, a viewinglift in the Air India building and memorial parks with statues. Mumbai is still waiting for all this

There areprojectsbeing

thought of that wouldmar the serenity of thearea. For example, if theShivaji statue comes up,the promenade wouldbecome a commercialhub with a hugeincrease in touristsflowing in. The hawkers,

cleanliness andsecuritywould thenbecomemajor issues

Chandresh Shah,PRESIDENT, MARINE

DRIVE RESIDENTS’ASSOCIATION

In the first phase, we(residents) did somechanges. Now six yearshave passed. Certainportions of the Drive atNariman Point havebecome a hawkers’ zone. Ithink the time has comefor the government to takeinitiative. There areabsolutely no open spacesbetween D Road, where Ilive, and Marine Linesstation. There used to beopen spaces when wewere children, but theyhave been converted intostadiums. The othergymkhanas and spacesare booked allthe time formarriagepartiesAnil Bhatia, HONORARY

SECRETARY, MARINE

DRIVE COUNCIL

Why is the stategovernment linking theMarine Drive makeoverproject to the NarimanPoint makeover? We havebeen hearing about thelatter for ages and itremains just a dream onpaper. Marine Drive has aseparate character andlife of its own and itsneeds are different fromthose of other areas. Ithink the Drive should betreated separately, being

as it is close toresidents’hearts and nota lifeless entity

Nayana Kathpalia,RESIDENT OF MARINE DRIVE

AND CO-CONVENOR

OF NGO CITISPACE

A policy decision wastaken a few years agothat the second phase ofthe Marine Drive revampshould be handled by theBMC. Hence, the localresidents who want toknow about pendingwork must follow up withBMC authorities and notthe MMRDADilip Kawathkar,SPOKESPERSON FOR

THE MUMBAI

METROPOLITAN REGION

DEVELOPMENT

AUTHORITY

21% OF WORK DONE

December 2004: Work onstrengthening sea wall beginsas part of Phase I of MarineDrive makeover

October 2005: MMRDAannounces `130-croremakeover. Phase I isto cost `30 crore,Phase II Rs 100crore. BMC gives nocommitment onsharing costs

January 2006:Beautification of Marine Drivestarts with first 10 metres ofthe promenade near Princess

Street flyover

April 2006: The `130-croreMarine Drive refurbishment

plan — which envisagednew sidewalks, special

illuminations andstreet furniture, andan open airamphitheatre —isinaugurated

April 2006: Heritageexperts raise

objections and askauthorities to keep thepromenade beautificationsimple. They also oppose the

move to refurbish Art Decobuildings

January 2008: The first phase,which was supposed to end inJanuary 2007, is finally ready

February 2008: MMRDA handsover the second phase to BMCwhich has heritage committeeto deal with heritage issuesand also may have theknowledge and the machineryto deal with undergroundutilities

Status: But, BMC is yet tocome out with a design or atender for the second phase

Area covered: NCPA at Nariman Point to Girgaum Chowpatty

Total length: 3km

Estimated cost: `30 crore

Actual cost: `27 crore,because Churchgate vista,Parsi Gate and eco-walk were

shifted to Phase II

Sea wall: Cost: `4.94 cr |Strengthened with concrete

tetrapods, rocks and boulders. Repairs to verticalwall and substructure damaged by waves. Minormodifications with granite

West footpath: Cost `7.97 cr | Paver blocks, graniteand concrete kerb stones laid

East footpath: Cost `2.69 cr | Paver blocks, flowerbeds and railings installed

Service ducts: Cost `3.25 cr | RCC duct for futurecables or pipelines under east footpath

Median: Cost `1.73 cr | Revised with concrete,including pedestrian crossovers

Bus shelters: Cost `26 lakh | Islands withlandscaping. Sit-outs at bus-stops on west footpath

Chowpatty: Cost `1.19 cr | Beach walkways havepaver blocks and landscaping. Not well maintained

Area below Princess St flyover: Cost `72 lakh | Agarden with sit-out facility developed withlandscaping. Not well maintained

Landscaping: Cost `1.96 cr | Small lawns, trees,shrubs, flowerbeds. Not up to the mark

Lighting: Replaced the existing light fixtures withmodern fixtures, enhancing the architectural andlandscaping features of Marine Drive

Estimated cost: `100 crore

Nariman Point breakwater promontory: Itwill extend 280 meters into

the sea, culminating in astepped amphitheatre

State capital complex:Approximately 7 acresof hard and soft

landscaping will be agrand forecourt to

buildings such as theMantralaya and Vidhan Bhavan. High-speedand low-speed traffic will be segregated toaid pedestrians heading to office and publicgatherings

Art Deco precinct: Conservation of thesecond-largest stretch of Art Deco buildingsin the world

Subways: Planned at four major pedestriancrossings, with entry points havinglandscaping. Will have toilets and drinkingwater. Opera House subway will also haveretail space

Chowpatty open-air amphitheatre: BirlaKreeda Kendra will become an open-airtheatre-cum-sunset gallery. Bhelpuri-wallahs will be relocated

Churchgate vista: Low-level walkway alongthe sea wall at the Veer Nariman Roadintersection

Parsi Gate: Revamping pillars and steps

Eco-walk and parking: Stainless steel paneldisplaying information and landscapedwalkway. Sprucing up parking areas neargymkhanas on east footpath

LIFELESS FACELIFTFOR QUEEN’S NECKLACE

The State Govt Announced Grand Plans To Revamp The Marine Drive Promenade, But So Far HasDelivered Only A Characterless Waterfront. The All-Important Phase II Remains In Cold Storage

What’s second phasestatus? ask residents

FIRST PHASE(COMPLETE)

TRACKING THE PROGRESS

SECOND PHASE(YET TO BEGIN)

PROMISES, PROMISES...

2012

2006

Pics: Uma Kadam

Shriram Vernekar

‘GATEWAY PLAZA HAS THE POTENTIAL FOR BETTER BEAUTIFICATION’

THE TIMES OF INDIA, MUMBAI | TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2012

PROMENADES & PLAZAS | BEACHES | RIVERS & NULLAHS | MANGROVES, CREEKS & WETLANDS | LAKES, PONDS & TANKS | PARKS, GARDENS, RECREATION & PLAYGROUNDS

Promenades, Plazas>>TIMES CITY

Some institution or body ofarchitects should initially lay down

a set of standards with specificrequirements for materials, timelines,post-completion maintenance etcbefore any makeover is attempted infuture. — Kiran

TIMES IMPACT: P 11