BMC announces winners of annual garden competition; Godrej Enterprises Group walks away with maximum prizes

MUMBAI: The BMC announced the results of its annual garden competition on February 1. Each year, the winners are declared alongside the civic body's annual flower show, held at the Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Botanical Garden and Zoo, also known as Rani Baug. This year, the competition saw 49 participants across indoor and outdoor categories, an increase from last year’s 45.

Godrej Enterprises Group in Vikhroli walked away with the maximum number of prizes across most categories, followed by Western Railways, HPCL, Chembur, and the Mumbai International Airport.

Among gated housing societies, some winners included Ashoka Gardens in Sewri, Ashoka Towers in Parel, Beaumonde Towers in Prabhadevi, and Lodha Bellissimo in Mahalaxmi.
Jitendra Pardeshi, BMC Gardens Department Superintendent, said, "Judges included experts in the field of horticulture, such as the former chief horticulturists from reputed institutes like BARC, Mumbai Airport, and BMC. In the last week of January, they visited the participants’ sites to judge the best among them. First, second, and consolation prizes were awarded across multiple categories. The enthusiasm of the participants was truly inspiring, and we are eager to support them in strengthening their green commitments in the years ahead."

The competition featured a variety of categories, including fruit trees in pots, seasonal flowers, ornamental leafy plants, aromatic and medicinal plants, maximum tree planting, traffic islands maintained by organizations, podium gardens by housing societies, rooftop terrace gardens, vertical gardens, and Miyawaki-style forested gardens.

Godrej bagged multiple awards across various categories, including manure production from garden waste, rooftop terrace gardens (500 sq m), flowers in pots, aromatic and medicinal plants, and planting and conserving the maximum number of trees.
Western Railways won awards for fruit trees in pots, seasonal flowers in pots, rose plants in pots, and miniature roses. Meanwhile, HPCL secured top spots for ornamental leafy plants in pots, planting over 100 trees in previous years, and a Miyawaki forest spanning more than 1,000 sq m.
In the Miyawaki forest category (300–500 sq m), Ashoka Towers secured the top spot and second place in the category of organic manure production for societies with 100–300 flats, while Beaumonde Society in Prabhadevi won in the podium garden category (3,000–5,000 sq m).
Bharat Diamond Bourse at Bandra Kurla Complex secured the top spot for podium gardens over 5,000 sq m and vertical gardens (10–50 sq m).
Meanwhile, Parel’s Ashoka Gardens won in the podium garden category for societies with an area of 1,000–3,000 sq m and secured second place for organic manure production in societies with over 300 flats.