MUMBAI, Dec. 3 -- In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the BMC is set to allow locals to adopt and cultivate spaces beneath the Western Express Highway flyover in Vile Parle East for an urban farming project. The effort, aimed at growing organic vegetables under the bridge and promoting community-led green practices, will be guided by Parle-based experts who have been active in the field for years. Under the plan, 32 cultivation pits will be created, each to be maintained by a participating family. The stretch will be divided into four zones: a vegetable cultivation area, a dedicated section for selling produce, a demonstration interpretation zone to teach residents how to develop balcony gardens, and a plant-care bay where people can leave their plants for maintenance when they are travelling. The organic vegetables grown here will be sold to fund the upkeep of the space. The proposal was tabled on behalf of the residents by the local MLA Parag Alavani. At present, the site is being cleaned to implement the project. Nitin Shukla, assistant commissioner of K East ward, confirmed that the proposal had received official clearance on November 11. "The plot is on the left side of the domestic airport, where there will be different bays with designated uses," he said. "Residents will maintain the area under the flyover from the revenue earned by selling the vegetables. At present, they will get CSR funds for the project." Alavani, who is also the president of the Vile Parle Cultural Centre for the past 35 years, recalled that the community had earlier launched the Swachh Parle Abhiyan when the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan began, and introduced courses in urban farming with the Marathi Vidnyan Parishad. "At that point, the pandemic threw a spanner in the works," he said. The project was conceived since installing jogging or walking tracks under a bridge was "passe", said the MLA. "Thirty-two pits measuring 6 ft x 3 ft each will be created under the flyover. There will also be an interpretation centre, and practical knowledge will be imparted on growing vegetables, which can then be replicated in balconies." Varsha Karambelkar, a microbiologist and one of the early members of the Swachh Parle Abhiyan, said, "Our journey began 15 years ago while encouraging waste segregation. Now we are focusing on this project beneath the flyover, which is currently in a decrepit state and used by unruly elements." The group has submitted a plan to the BMC and will begin by fencing the 25,000-square-feet area and lining it with flower beds. Karambelkar said the civic body would provide electricity and water supply. Dr Chandrakant Lattu, a retired botany professor, said the concept first emerged from a terrace-farming initiative called 'Gacchivaril sheti' launched with the Marathi Vidnyan Parishad near Chembur. "Our intention was to create a love for farming by growing leafy vegetables like spinach and colocasia leaves," he said. "We will also be conducting an eight-Sunday course." Architect and organiser Satish Kolwankar said that community farming would be a major component of the project. "Community farming will be an added activity wherein a family or a group will be given a small separate plot for cultivation," he said. "We will guide volunteers, who will then take care of the work on an everyday basis."...