Mumbai public open space only 2.5% of city area: Jones Lang LaSalle

MUMBAI: Mumbai, the financial capital of the country, for its 14 million people has public open space of only 14 sq km or just 2.5% of the city's total area, said a report from property consultant Jones Lang LaSalle India.

Mumbai's open spaces that includes parks, playing fields and recreation grounds accounts for only 1.95 sq meter space per capita. This number is grossly below the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization standard of 9 sq meters per capita and significantly less than other Indian cities too.

Metros like Delhi and Bangalore offer 15 and 6.4 sq meters public open space per capita respectively, the report said. While Chandigarh in north India offers 35% of its city area for open spaces, Delhi utilizes 20% for gardens and parks, and even the world's most congested cities like Tokyo and New York are better off than Mumbai with 6 and 2.5 sq meters per capita, respectively.

Mumbai has a 50 sq km national park within the city which is under-utilized. It has areas covered by mangroves and wet lands that are meant to be a protected zone without public access, but squatters have been encroaching upon this, the report added.