Mumbai’s Govt Tried Charging Morning Walkers ₹10,000 a Year for Fresh Air – Then Pretended to Back Down After People Lost Their Shit
The maharashtra government really looked at Mumbai’s exhausted, stressed-out citizens and thought, “You know what these people need? A ₹10,000 annual pass to walk in a public park.”
Yes, you read that right. They proposed jacking up the Sanjay gandhi National Park morning walker pass from a very reasonable ₹348 to a soul-crushing ₹10,000 — that’s over 2,500% hike. Seniors? Only ₹5,000, how generous. Monthly plan? Still ₹1,000 (₹500 for seniors). The official justification? “Administrative and maintenance costs.” Translation: we need more money, and your daily fitness routine looks like easy prey.
Over 2,500 regular walkers depend on this green lung for their health, sanity, and daily routine in a city that already suffocates them with traffic, pollution, and tiny flats. The backlash was instant and brutal — citizens, walkers’ groups, and even local MLAs tore into the proposal. So naturally, the authorities “put it on hold” and admitted it was “too high.” Classic move: float an insane idea, watch the outrage, then act like reasonable people while quietly planning a slightly less insane version.
Here’s the bigger, darker question nobody in power wants to answer: Should public green spaces even exist anymore, or are they just future luxury access zones for those who can afford it? In a country where politicians love lecturing about “public welfare,” turning a national park into an exclusive gym for the well-off is peak tone-deaf greed.
They blinked this time. But the message is clear — nothing is truly public if some babu sees a chance to monetize it. Keep walking, Mumbai. Just hope they don’t start charging per step next.