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By:

Bhalchandra Chorghade

11 August 2025 at 1:54:18 pm

BMC plans parking curbs in narrow lanes

Mumbai: Amid mounting concerns over delayed emergency response in congested neighbourhoods, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is preparing to enforce parking restrictions in several narrow lanes across the city, where indiscriminate on-street parking has increasingly emerged as a critical civic hazard. The move, expected to be implemented soon, is aimed at ensuring unobstructed access for fire engines and ambulances in densely populated pockets where even minor delays can have...

BMC plans parking curbs in narrow lanes

Mumbai: Amid mounting concerns over delayed emergency response in congested neighbourhoods, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is preparing to enforce parking restrictions in several narrow lanes across the city, where indiscriminate on-street parking has increasingly emerged as a critical civic hazard. The move, expected to be implemented soon, is aimed at ensuring unobstructed access for fire engines and ambulances in densely populated pockets where even minor delays can have life-threatening consequences. “Illegal parking is not merely a compliance issue; it reflects the structural gap between the rapid growth in vehicle ownership and the limited parking infrastructure available in our cities,” said Prashant Sharma, President of NAREDCO Maharashtra. “As urban centres continue to densify, there is a pressing need to integrate well-planned and technologically enabled parking solutions within city planning as well as new real estate developments. Adequate parking infrastructure will play a crucial role in ensuring smoother traffic flow and improving overall urban mobility,” he added. Highlighting the urgency for scalable interventions, Ashish Majithia, Founder and CEO of Nextkraft Parking Technologies, said, “Mumbai’s parking crisis, especially in older and congested localities, underscores the need for innovative approaches such as automated and multi-level parking systems. Automated or mechanised parking should be installed at every public parking spot, which can significantly increase capacity, reduce dependence on on-street parking and ensure that critical access routes remain unobstructed. Alongside regulatory measures, adopting vertical parking infrastructure will be the key to building safer and more efficient cities.” The civic concern is particularly acute in older parts of South and Central Mumbai, including Chandanwadi, Girgaon, Kalbadevi, Gaondevi, Tardeo, Mumbai Central, Nagpada, Agripada and Byculla, where over 240 narrow lanes have been identified. Civic assessments indicate that nearly 35 to 40 of these are so constricted that only a single vehicle can pass at a time, making them highly vulnerable during emergencies when every second is critical. Commercial Zones The situation is further exacerbated in high-density commercial zones such as Zaveri Bazaar and Kalbadevi, where wholesale trade activity leads to persistent vehicular congestion. Authorities warn that in the event of fires or medical emergencies, blocked access routes could result in severe loss of life and property, underlining the gravity of the issue as more than just a traffic inconvenience. According to civic officials, proposed measures include introducing odd-even parking systems in select lanes and declaring complete no-parking zones in others, coupled with stricter enforcement against violators. However, residents and business owners have raised concerns over the absence of adequate alternative parking infrastructure, arguing that enforcement without viable substitutes could shift the burden rather than resolve the problem. As Mumbai continues to grapple with rising vehicle ownership and shrinking urban space, the proposed restrictions bring into sharp focus a deeper civic challenge, balancing immediate regulatory action with long-term infrastructure planning. Experts maintain that unless supported by systematic investments in organised, high-capacity parking solutions, the city’s emergency access bottlenecks may persist despite stricter rules.

Unrest within Mahayuti

Updated: Jan 21, 2025

Mahayuti

Mumbai: The state administration on Sunday stalled the appointments of guardian ministers in Raigad and Nashik districts. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had cleared the appointments before he left for Davos in Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum on Saturday. They are believed to have been stalled on behest of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who heads the state in absence of the Chief Minister.


NCP’s Aditi Tatkare and BJP’s Girish Mahajan were entrusted with responsibilities of guardian minister for the Raigad and Nashik districts respectively, where Shiv Sena’s Bharat Gogawale and Dada Bhuse had staked claims. Gogawale is a first-time minister while, Bhuse had been the guardian minister of the district during previous government under Eknath Shinde.


Shiv Sena, NCP and BJP all the three constituents of Mahayuti have strong roots in both the districts. However, the Shiv Sena and the NCP had been particularly on loggerheads there. The Shiv Sena, which had been demanding the guardian minister’s post in Nashik district has managed to win only two assembly seats in the district where the NCP has Six and the BJP has Five MLAs. On the contrary, in Raigad the NCP has won only one seat while the Shiv Sena and the BJP both have Three MLAs each in the district.


Sunil Tatkare, MP from Raigad Lok Sabha constituency and the stat unit president of the NCP and father of Aditi Tatkare, had been the guardian minister of Raigad between 2004 and 2014. Gogawale had always been his political opponent before Tatkare joined the Mahayuti government under Ajit Pawar’s leadership in 2023. Gogawale claimed that all the Six Shiv Sena-BJP MLAs in the district had opined in his favour to be the guardian minister of the district and after the decision to appoint Aditi Tatkare was announced, his supporters resorted to violent protests. They burnt tyres in bid to stall traffic on highway in the district. Reacting to the developments, Tatkare said that the issue should be pondered over after CM Fadnavis returns from Davos on Saturday and settled amicably.


In Nashik Girish Mahajan had been the guardian minister of the district between 2014 and 2019 when Fadnavis was the Chief Minister.


The post of guardian minister doesn’t have any constitutional mandate and is considered to be a political appointment. Guardian ministers head the district planning and development councils (DPDC) that control the funds for development works being carried out in the particular district. This control wields much of political power to the minister in that district whereby spreading the party in the district becomes much easier. This is the reason why the grass root politicians seem to be very sensitive to such appointments.


While Gogawale and Bhuse are unhappy about not being appointed as guardian ministers, some others like NCP’s Hasan Mushrif and BJP’s Pankaja Munde are unhappy about not being appointed as guardian district in their home districts of Kolhapur and Beed respectively. DCM Shinde is learnt to have gone to his ancestral village Dare in Satara district after the decision and BJP’s firefighters Chandrashekhar Bawankule and Girish Mahajan are expected to meet him there to try finding a way out of the issue.

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