In a game-changing plan, the financial capital of India, Mumbai (Maharashtra) has become the first city in the country with a gender-specific city’s urban plan which has provisions for designated spaces for the needs of women. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has added a chapter titled ‘Gender, Special Groups and Social Equity’ under the Revised Draft Development Plan (RDDP) 2034.

• The plan proposed “departure from gender blindness to gender mainstreaming”.

• This revision has been after women from various sectors collaborated to challenge the lack of a gender perspective in urban planning approved by the state government in 2018.

Key Points:

–Under the new plan, approximately 90 land reservations of physical and social infrastructure will be there to address women’s needs including education, health, housing and safety.

–This venture will push Mumbai into becoming a prominent women-friendly city.

–Among the planned developments, construction of a child-care centre in Goregaon and a skills development facility in Sion-Koliwada is almost complete. Project designs which have been finalised and await bids include two homes for the elderly in Bhandup and Goregaon, and rental housing for women in Antop Hill, Bhandup and Goregaon.