MUMBAI: A prime plot measuring 37,000 sq m near Mira Road railway station, reserved for a bus depot, could be turned into a pay-and-park facility and an autorickshaw stand, greatly shrinking the space allotted to the depot.Mira Road may lose bus depot to pay-and-park facilitySpearheading the change in reservation is deputy mayor Dhruvkishor Patil, who argues that the new metro line 9 connecting Mumbai and Mira Road will bring an influx of cars and two-wheelers to the metro station, creating the need for parking space.“There is no place to park bikes and so we need a pay-and-park facility. Hence I suggested the change in reservation and the commissioner agreed,” Patil said.A resolution to modify the Sanctioned Development Plan, to accommodate the modified reservation under Section 37(1) of the MRTP Act, was passed by the MBMC general body on May 6. The new reservation would be designated as “bus depot plus autorickshaw stand and pay-and-park”.The MBMC published a public notice last week, inviting suggestions and objections to the proposed change in reservation, a procedural requirement for changes in the Development Plan. After taking into account the public response, the MBMC could decide to go ahead and formally modify the reservation.The public notice says that Metro line No 9, from Dahisar to Kashigaon station, had been inaugurated on April 7, by the chief minister and other dignitaries. The very next day, the deputy mayor moved a proposal in the civic general body, regarding the need to provide parking facilities at the metro station for the convenience of commuters.While Patil claims Mira Bhayandar does not need another bus depot, there are some who argue that public transport is being compromised when it should, in fact, be strengthened.Former Congress MLC Muzaffar Hussain, who hails from Mira Road, said, “There were 385 reservations for amenities in the plan and 164 have been deleted. Nearly 3,000 acres of no-development zone has been converted into residential zone. Crowding is increasing and amenities are being deleted.’’Environmental activist Stalin Dayanand remarked, “Introducing commercial facilities such as pay-and-park at the cost of a bus depot is a bad idea. Bus services are an affordable means of transport and should be supported,” he said.