The Forest Mumbai Forgot for 30 Years | Rahul Kadri | TEDxGateway GIS

Quick Overview

Rahul Kadri details how the community, through persistent requests and backing from environmental groups, successfully convinced the BMC to allocate 338 crore towards preserving a 12.5-acre pristine forest area in the middle of Mumbai's concrete jungle, which had been neglected for 30 years.

Key Points: The speaker, Rahul Kadri, advocates for preserving a 12.5-acre pristine forest located in the middle of Mumbai's concrete jungle, which had been neglected for 30 years. Kadri recounts that in the 1990s, the area was used for illegal activities like drug use and liquor brewing, leading the BMC to seal the entire area off. The community, including the Nepean Sea Citizens Forum, persistently asked for the forest's preservation, even securing backing from environmental groups like The Hiranandani Foundation. The Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC) ultimately allocated a capital budget of 338 crore (1/3rd of the total budget) towards the project, driven by citizen requests. The project focused on minimal intervention, ensuring the forest floor, flora, fauna, and stormwater flow underneath the elevated walkway were undisturbed. The resulting elevated walkway, made of teak wood, is open from 5 AM to 9 PM, allowing people to experience the forest without disturbing its ecosystem. Kadri concludes that by leaning in and taking responsibility, the community managed to change the fate of this forgotten urban forest.

Context: Rahul Kadri delivers a TEDxGateway talk about his successful efforts, alongside community members and environmental organizations, to save and restore a significant patch of pristine forest within the dense urban environment of Mumbai. He contrasts the forest's past neglect and illegal usage with its eventual transformation into a protected public space featuring an elevated walkway.

Detailed Analysis

Rahul Kadri begins by stating that people often love their cities but leave the responsibility for improvement to someone else, but he argues we must actively love our cities. He shares a personal story from when he was 13, involving a Doberman dog, which serves as a subtle setup for the larger narrative about neglected urban spaces. Kadri then focuses on a specific 12.5-acre pristine forest in the middle of Mumbai's concrete jungle that had been forgotten for 30 years. He describes its past state in the 1990s as the dark underbelly of the city, used for drugs and illegal liquor brewing, resulting in the BMC sealing it off. Kadri explains that because the citizens and environmental groups like the Nepean Sea Citizens Forum and The Hiranandani Foundation persistently advocated for it, the government listened. He mentions that the BMC allocated 338 crores of its capital budget (one-third of the total) to the project, driven by citizen action. The goal was to create an elevated walkway made of teak wood, designed minimally so it did not disturb the forest floor, flora, fauna, or stormwater flow underneath. The walkway is open from 5 AM to 9 PM, allowing the public to experience the forest without impacting the ecosystem. The presentation includes visuals of similar successful urban nature projects globally (The High Line, Park Am Gleisdreieck, Oval Maidan, Smart City Bengaluru, Warje Urban Forest, Chennai Lake restoration) to illustrate successful models. Kadri emphasizes that by taking responsibility, the community transformed the area, proving that citizens can successfully advocate for preserving nature within urban settings.