MUMBAI, Oct. 28 -- The state urban development department has brought out a Government Resolution (GR) that if a reservation for a playground is to be deleted, the municipal corporation or municipal council will have to offer an equal area as a playground and then get an approval from the state cabinet. A senior officer of the urban development department (UDD) claimed that under the current rules, a municipal council or corporation merely had to approach the cabinet and get approval. The GR says that with a view to preventing encroachments on playgrounds, such encroachments will not be regularised, irrespective of the year in which they occurred, and the reservation of land for playgrounds will not be changed under any circumstances. However, if a planning authority such as a municipal corporation or council is satisfied that the deletion of a playground reservation from the Development Plan is unavoidable, it will be mandatory to propose the reservation of an equivalent area for a playground at another location in the city. "The government does not want to reduce the area meant for playgrounds and hence has mandated that the corporations/councils provide an equal area for a playground," said the UDD official. "Playgrounds are very necessary for youngsters, and with all governments paying more attention to Gen Z, this is an important step." Environmental activist D Stalin of NGO Vanashakti, however, called out the policy as a subterfuge. "The idea of substituting a playground in one area with land in another suburb is ridiculous," he said. "The open spaces in any area are for the exclusive use of residents there. This is clear proof of how builders eye open lands and how the government betrays the trust of the people." Stalin said that there appeared to be "a mad rush to monetise land and run away with the spoils, leaving the city in a mess". "This act will not stand the test of law," he said. "Even the citizens of the area must fiercely defend their right to a good quality of life. Children's right to play is not a tradable asset." In 2025, the state government had issued directions to all councils and corporations to not delete reservations for cemeteries/burial grounds from their Development Plans, and any amendment of reservation of a plot reserved for cemeteries/burial grounds or deletion of such a reservation would require cabinet approval. The state came out with this rule, as many residential colonies did not want crematoriums and burial grounds close to them....