More than 210 of Mumbai’s open spaces need urgent repairs, and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) doesn’t have the money to fix them. To plug part of the gap, the civic administration has sought an additional Rs 40 crore for their upkeep.

That’s a small slice of the bill. On October 6, The Indian Express reported that priority maintenance of the city’s public gardens would cost Rs 250 crore. That’s more than three times the Rs 68 crore the trees and gardens department got for this financial year. The new request would cover about a sixth of it.

“As of now, a request has been sent to the municipal commissioner to approve Rs 40 crore for carrying out repair and maintenance of multiple open spaces and gardens in Mumbai . Once the funds are approved, the gardens will be shortlisted and immediate repairs initiated,” a civic official said.

Where the money went

The garden and trees department is responsible for expanding Mumbai’s green cover, creating new open spaces and maintaining existing ones.…