We hosted a function at the Cama Hall on November 19, 2022, to commemorate 160 years of Rani Bagh, Mumbai’s only heritage botanical garden. Rani Bagh is the popular name of V.J.B. Botanical Udyan and Zoo. The goodwill towards Rani Bagh and the sheer joy of celebrating 160 years of the island city’s largest green public space and largest agglomeration of trees was palpable at the well-attended event for which over 180 citizens had registered.


Mr. D.M. Sukthankar, formerly Chief Secretary Maharashtra and Chairman Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee, was our Guest of Honour. Other eminent speakers were Ms. Nayana Kathpalia, Trustee NAGAR and OVAL Trust; Mr. Cyrus Guzder, noted environmentalist and heritage expert; Dr. Pheroza Godrej, President Emeritus, National Society of the Friends of the Trees; Ms. Sumaira Abdulali, Founder Awaaz Foundation and Mr. Bittu Sahgal, President Bombay Natural History Society and Founder Sanctuary Nature Foundation (whose pre-recorded video message was screened). A congratulatory message from former Municipal Commissioner, Mr. Sharad Kale – a steadfast supporter of the Foundation’s work – was read out as he was unable to attend due to failing health.


Hosted by Hutokshi Rustomfram, Trustee of the Foundation, the evening began with the screening of the Foundation’s short documentary film, Rani Bagh – Mumbai’s Heritage Botanical Garden. Visuals of Rani Bagh’s breath-taking vistas and majestic trees set the tone for the function. She made the important announcement that the official designation, namely, ‘botanical garden’ for Rani Bagh in the Development Plan 2014-2034 for Mumbai, proposed by the Foundation, had finally received the formal sanction of the Urban Development Department, Government of Maharashtra in September 2022, a most-welcome development, applauded by all.


Dr. Sheila Tanna, Trustee of the Foundation, presented the Foundation’s report sketching a broad arc of the Foundation’s work and struggle over the past 15 years and more. Hutokshi Rustomfram introduced and thanked each speaker for her/his support to the Foundation’s struggle to protect the botanical garden from the forces of so-called redevelopment. All speakers highlighted Rani Bagh’s importance to the city and spoke evocatively of their association with the Foundation and its work. Mr. Sukthankar, as always highly articulate and forceful, made an impassioned call to the BMC to expedite the renaming of V.J.B. Udyan (as it then was in November 2022) to add the term ‘vanaspati’ (‘botanical’) to the official name, renaming it V.J.B. Vanaspati Udyan & Zoo. The evening ended with a ‘Vote of Thanks’ where numerous Rani Bagh friends – nature-loving citizens, botanists, architects, lawyers, engineers, historians and heritage experts - were gratefully acknowledged. A commemorative table calendar, brought out by the Foundation, showcasing the botanical, cultural and heritage-related aspects of the botanical garden was distributed among the attendees See here.


It is a matter of immense satisfaction to us that the official renaming proposal put forth by the Foundation in March 2022 and accepted by AMC Ms. Ashwini Bhide in May, finally became reality when the relevant Resolution was signed by the Municipal Commissioner Mr. I.S. Chahal on December 12, 2022. The Foundation thanks Mr. Sukthankar, a long-time well-wisher and friend, for his keen interest in the renaming initiative and his support in helping it become a reality in the year 2022, Rani Bagh’s 160th year. The official renaming and the formal designation, ‘botanical garden’, in DP 2014-34, provide iron-clad protection to the botanical garden – both far-reaching developments being a vindication of the Foundation’s 15-year struggle to protect, preserve and promote it.

Save Rani Bagh Botanical Garden Foundation
info@saveranibagh.org