Mumbai: A waterfront plaza for hosting events that overlooks the sea, pickleball and padel courts, food trucks, and even a petting zoo with duck and turtle ponds could be among the ticketed recreational facilities on Coastal Road’s open spaces.A team from Reliance Industries Ltd, which has been appointed to design and develop the open spaces, recently made a detailed presentation on the proposed plan before the BMC landscaping committee headed by deputy municipal commissioner (gardens).The centrepiece of the proposal is a waterfront event plaza capable of seating 8,000-10,000, envisioned as Mumbai’s first large-scale seafacing venue of its kind, near the project’s Worli end. It is expected to host concerts, cultural programmes, and sound and light shows, potentially creating a new landmark destination along the city’s western shoreline. At present, Mahalaxmi Racecourse is the nearest open space capable of hosting events of a similar scale.The presentation was made a few days before Supreme Court clarified last week that up to 15% of Coastal Road’s open spaces could be used for ticketed recreational facilities and access-controlled areas, while the remaining portion must remain freely accessible to the public.However, the committee observed that the area earmarked for ticketed amenities exceeded the permissible limit and directed the planners to scale it down. “We found that around 19% of the area was falling under ticketed recreational facilities and, therefore, asked that it be reduced to 15%,” said an official who attended the meeting.Other proposed components within the ticketed zone include pickleball and padel courts, a nature-themed family attraction featuring a petting zoo, bird park, and duck and turtle ponds, a dedicated food and beverage precinct with food trucks, and a vendor retail zone around a small amphitheatre, also planned at the Worli end.The open spaces along Nepeansea Road, Breach Candy, Mahalaxmi and Haji Ali have largely been earmarked for free public amenities, such as gardens, basketball and volleyball courts, children’s play areas, Nana-Nani parks and a native tree museum.The 10.6km Coastal Road project involved reclaiming nearly 111 hectares from the sea, of which around 40 hectares has been utilised for the road, interchanges, bridge approaches and related infrastructure. The remaining 65 hectares is proposed to be developed as public open spaces featuring promenades, gardens, cycling and walking tracks, urban forests and recreational zones. The civic body had initially maintained that these open spaces would be entirely free and accessible to the public.
