Mumbai, March 22 -- The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has proposed to reclassify a portion of a Malabar Hill plot from a designated green belt to a residential zone, with the matter scheduled for discussion before the civic body's improvement committee on March 25. The proposal pertains to 249.15 sq metres of a 542.65 sq metre plot owned by M/s Hare Krishna Packaging Pvt Ltd. The land currently falls within a no-development zone under Coastal Regulation Zone-II. The company had sought a change in reservation in June 2024, following which the state urban development department directed the BMC to take a decision. According to civic records, a bungalow already exists on part of the plot and is protected as it predates the Development Control Plan Regulations-2032, which was framed in 2018. The BMC had granted permission for the bungalow's construction in 1986 and later redevelopment approvals in 2003, with completion in 2005. Opposing the move, Congress group leader Ashraf Azmi said to HT that the land should remain protected as open green space and questioned the rationale for rezoning. "While the provisions of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 does allow for minor modifications, it does not allow for deletions of green zones. Besides, we are trustees of public land and cannot let this happen for private gain," he said. Members of residents' collective 'Friends of Malabar Hill' also expressed concern over increasing high-rise development in the area, warning of ecological risks such as landslides and strain on civic infrastructure due to rising density. "Several areas are landslide-prone, and yet, redevelopment of 40-80 storeys are being approved on them.The locality's civic infrastructure is utterly unequipped to bear the load of increased human and vehicle density," Pervin Sanghvi, office bearer, Friends of Malabar Hill, said....