THE BRIHANMUMBAI Municipal Corporation (BMC) has floated a Rs 25-crore tender to develop four theme parks/gardens in the eastern and western suburbs of Mumbai. The four theme parks — Barefoot meditation park in Vikhroli, Science Park in Ghatkopar, Traffic Park in Kandivali and a multi-purpose sports club in Dahisar, are proposed by the BMC’s planning department.
These four theme gardens are as envisioned by the Mumbai suburban guardian minister Aaditya Thackeray, who has made a separate provision of funds under the District Planning Committee to revitalise suburban Mumbai through tactical urban interventions.
For the Barefoot Meditation Park in Vikhroli, BMC has identified 28,487 sq m of recreational space. It will have a yoga and meditation area, a rock climbing zone, white and dark pebble pathways and grassy and mud paths for barefoot walking. The civic body has proposed to transform the existing garden spread across 19,135 sq m for the Science Park to include an amphitheatre, and a section to exhibit interactive physical science equipment.
The Traffic Park will see the BMC repurpose the existing 8,000 sq m playground. In addition to the badminton arena and field tracks, the ground will also get an open-air gym and incorporate traffic elements like signages, boards, foot over bridge models to emulate real-life traffic scenarios and pet-safe areas.
The area shortlisted for a multi-purpose sports facility is a playground in Dahisar spread across 497 sq m. The BMC plans to construct cricket pitches, Kabaddi and volleyball courts in the facility.
The theme parks were first introduced in the 2007-08 civic budget and 39 new theme gardens were announced including a rose garden, butterfly garden to fortresses and memorial gardens across the city. In the 2014-15 budget alone, the BMC had announced the development of eight theme gardens for Rs 93 crore.
However, the civic body was criticised for allotting substantial amounts to theme gardens while it struggled to maintain them. A case in point was SK Patil Udyan in Marine lines, where the BMC had approximately spent Rs 150 crore for its development and had opened it to the public in 2014. Since then, the park has been closed multiple times for restoration and maintenance and was reopened in 2019.
