Why was the Save Rani Bagh movement initiated?

The Save Rani Bagh movement was begun in April 2007 by a group of nature enthusiasts who had banded themselves into an informal Committee to protect the heritage botanical garden of V.J.B. Botanical Udyan & Zoo, popularly called Rani Bagh, from the forces of so-called redevelopment. In October 2012, following five years of sustained activity, the Committee undertook to formally register itself as a public charitable trust by forming the Save Rani Bagh Botanical Garden Foundation, with the express aim of consolidating the struggle to protect the heritage botanical garden, to generate greater public awareness about its many features and to strive to promote in myriad ways. [Note: The official name of the facility was V.J.B. Udyan & Zoo until December 2022; it was changed to V.J.B. Botanical Udyan & Zoo at the initiative of the Save Rani Bagh Botanical Garden Foundation.]

The Beginnings

The story begins in April 2007 when the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai announced a grandiose plan to install a zoo to “international standards” in Rani Bagh at a whopping cost Rs. 433 crore ! The astronomical price tag and gushing media reports clearly indicated that construction activity was envisaged on an enormous scale - this on a 60-acre campus, home to 4,131 trees, where there was virtually no treeless space available for any kind of construction. Fearing that the proposed international zoo would obliterate the then 145-year-old heritage botanical garden (now 161 years old), gravely endanger its diverse flora and make the entry fee prohibitively expensive - thereby denying entry to common citizens, we undertook to roundly oppose the proposal at all levels using every democratic avenue open to common citizens.

Protecting the botanical garden

We gathered, analysed and cross-verified voluminous data obtained under the Right to Information Act from all official bodies, and used it to buttress our stand that the botanical garden was at grave risk from the Municipal Corporation’s dangerous proposal. We represented before bodies such as the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), the Central Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the State Government, the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) and the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC). Our hands were strengthened by public and media support as also the backing of a range of environmental and public space groups. A protracted struggle, during the course of which, we also knocked on the doors of the Mumbai High Court under writ jurisdiction and attended several official hearings before the MHCC and the CZA, resulted in the vexed MCGM proposal being rejected by the MHCC in March 2011. A revised proposal (which ignored many of the stipulations set by MHCC order in 2011), was once again rejected by the MHCC in November 2014. Consequent to our sustained campaign, in early 2016, the Municipal Commissioner initiated a process of dialogue with the Foundation and constituted a team led by a Deputy Municipal Commissioner to closely examine the proposed redevelopment Master Plan with the Foundation Trustees and modify it in the interest of the botanical garden. This was done by adhering to the Foundation’s main demand that renovated animal enclosures adhere to the footprint of existing animal enclosures as they stood in 2007, thereby protecting the botanical garden’s trees, space and sanctity. From 2016 to 2020, the Foundation met the Municipal team each week, at first to re-work the Master Plan and thereafter, to ensure that the Plan was implemented faithfully and that the reconstruction process did not harm or endanger any trees. Many suggestions proffered by the Foundation regarding the heritage and botanical aspects of Rani Bagh were implemented by the Municipal Corporation. After a break of a few months during the Corona virus induced lockdown, the Foundation Trustees continued with regular visits keeping an eye on the renovation work which is almost complete. The struggle to protect the botanical garden is an ongoing one and forms a large chunk of our work. For details please visit the link "Our Struggle".

Raising awareness about the botanical garden

Over the years we have raised public awareness about the botanical garden through publication of brochures, participation in seminars and public events and through educational activities such as nature trails and audio-visual programmes conducted for students and lay people. We have facilitated a slew of improvements and enhancements to the heritage and botanical garden aspects of the facility by affixing name plates on each tree (over 4,000), establishing a butterfly garden, designing information plaques on the historical, botanical, heritage and cultural aspects of the botanical garden. For details please go to links under menu "Our Initiatives".


Rani Bagh 150 Years published

We celebrated 150 years of Rani Bagh in 2012, by publishing a large-format richly-illustrated book titled ‘Rani Bagh 150 Years’ showcasing Rani Bagh’s botanical, historical and cultural aspects. This exhaustive work, jointly published by BNHS, FoT and our Foundation carries essays by experts in their respective fields, and will remain a living testament to Rani Bagh’s unique character and legacy. In 2013 a Marathi translation titled ‘Ranibaag 150 Varshe’ was also published. Both books can be found in most public libraries and libraries of many educational institutions. For details please go to links under menu "Publications".

Brief Documentary Films on Rani Bagh

In March 2020 we produced a short documentary film giving a glimpse into the botanical and heritage aspects of Rani Bagh (subtitled and narrated in English) called ‘V.J.B. Udyan Zoo – Mumbai’s Only Heritage Botanical Garden’ and uploaded it on YouTube. The film, admittedly an amateur but passionate effort on our part, has some stunning visuals of Rani Bagh’s grand vistas and trees and serves as a good preview for someone who hasn’t visited. The same film, with Marathi subtitles and narration, was produced in November 2021. The Films can be viewed at links under menu "Documentary Films".

Rani Bagh gets ‘Botanical Garden’ Designation in the Development Plan

In June 2014, we had protested against the crippling provisions of the Proposed Draft Development Plan for Mumbai 2014-34: the designation of Rani Bagh was diabolically changed from 'garden' to 'zoo' with an FSI of 5. We filed suggestions-objections in 2015 and 2016 pushing for the designation, ‘botanical garden’. Our efforts paid off at a hearing in November 2016 before Mr. Gautam Chatterjee, Chairman Planning Committee, when he agreed to the designation 'botanical garden', a designation especially created for Rani Bagh. The new ‘botanical garden’ designation was forwarded by the Review Panel to the Urban Development Department (UDD) of the State Government. The UDD sanction finally came through on September 12, 2022. The new DP designation, ‘botanical garden’ is a clear vindication of our stand and toil.

Celebrating 160 Years of the Botanical Garden

In 2022, we celebrated 160 Years of Rani Bagh with nature-cum-heritage walks, films, slide shows, and installation of information plaques. We were delighted to host a commemorative function on November 19, 2022 (the botanical garden, then called Victoria Gardens, was inaugurated on November 19, 1862 by Lady Catherine Frere). The goodwill towards Rani Bagh and the sheer joy of celebrating 160 years of Mumbai’s sole heritage botanical garden was palpable at the well-attended event for which over 180 citizens had registered. We marked the occasion by distributing a commemorative table calendar, showcasing Rani Bagh’s botanical, cultural and heritage aspects, among the attendees. Mr. D.M. Sukthankar, formerly Chief Secretary Maharashtra, was our Guest of Honour. Other eminent speakers and friends of Rani Bagh who addressed the gathering were Nayana Kathpalia, Trustee NAGAR; Cyrus Guzder, noted environmentalist and heritage expert; Dr. Pheroza Godrej, President Emeritus, National Society of the Friends of the Trees; Sumaira Abdulali, Founder Awaaz Foundation and Bittu Sahgal, President BNHS. To view the table calendar and for more details and photographs of the event please go to links under menu "Our Initiatives".


Success of re-christening Campaign brings our work to fruition

In March 2022 we initiated a campaign to change Rani Bagh’s name from ‘V.J.B. Udyan va Pranisangrahalaya’ to ‘V.J.B. Vanaspati Udyan va Pranisangrahalaya’ (V.J.B. Botanical Garden and Zoo), a project very close to our hearts. We decided to use the 160-year milestone as a pivot to push for the renaming. At a meeting in May 2022 Mr. Sukthankar and Foundation Trustees presented the proposal to AMC Ms. A. Bhide, who readily agreed to add the term ‘botanical’ to the official name. She asked the Director Zoo to prepare an official proposal. Thanks to bureaucratic sloth and red tape the official BMC proposal was ready only in August and was being tossed back and forth through various bureaucratic channels. BMC’s official renaming Resolution was finally passed on December 12, 2022. The name change will help in creating greater awareness of Rani Bagh’s botanical wealth and green heritage and act as a shield to protect the botanical garden and its trees from any future assault on its integrity. For more information on the historic re-naming please go to links under menu "Our Initiatives".

2022 – a Year of Jubilation for the Botanical Garden

The year 2022 was a climactic year for Rani Bagh’s botanical garden and for our 15-year endeavour to protect and preserve it. The DP Designation in September and the name change in December gives it iron-clad protection and confers upon it much-deserved standing and recognition. Henceforth no bureaucrat or power-broker can ever dream of having the temerity to proclaim, as they did so often in the past, that Rani Bagh is not a botanical garden but “only” a garden.

Chief objects of the Foundation:

• To protect the entire area and Renaissance layout Rani Bagh's botanical garden and ensure that public access remains unhindered.


• To publish field guides, train volunteers and conduct educational/ awareness-raising events to inspire citizens, particularly the youth, to take greater interest in Rani Bagh's natural and built heritage.


• To enhance the value of the botanical garden and its floral diversity by planting uncommon tree species, assisting the Municipal Corporation in laying out specialized gardens preparing educational material, conducting workshops etc.


• To stress the need for open spaces and gardens in the city and harness all democratic methods to prevent felling of trees and encroachment of open public spaces and to promote the preservation of existing gardens, particularly botanical gardens.

Trustees
Hutokshi Rustomfram
Shubhada Nikharge
Dr. Sheila Tanna
Katie Bagli
Hutoxi Arethna

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