Page 2 - Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation

Poster child of negligence

Billboard collapse reflects a chronic failure of civic authorities

After Mumbai billboard tragedy, MCD to audit conditions of Delhi hoardings

Fourteen people died in the Mumbai billboard accident on Monday when a massive illegal hoarding uprooted and fell on a petrol pump in the Ghatkopar area

Mumbai storm: BMC issues notice to ad agency for removal of 3 hoardings

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) issued a notice to an advertisement agency on Monday after the Ghatkopar billboard collapse incident, asking it to immediately remove the remaining three hoardings near the spot, officials said. The notice has been issued to M/s Ego Media for installing the hoarding that collapsed on the petrol pump during the gusty winds on Monday evening. According to police, eight persons were killed and more than 70 were injured in the incident. "The BMC has asked the ad agency to remove the remaining three hoardings immediately for not having valid permission," an official said. The Assistant Police Commissioner (Admin) had given permission for erecting the four hoardings on behalf of the Commissioner of Railway Police, Mumbai, including the one which collapsed on Monday, but no official permission or NOC was obtained from the BMC. The official said the land on which the hoarding was erected is the Collector land and it was in possession of Police .

Mumbai to witness high sea waves till Sunday night, says BMC advisory

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Saturday issued an advisory cautioning people against entering the Arabian Sea amid warnings about high tide till Sunday night. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and Indian National Centre for Ocean Information (INCOIS), the sea will witness a "swell of surge waves" from 11.30 am on Saturday to 11.30 pm on Sunday, the civic body said. During this time, the height of the waves will rise by 0.5 to 1.5 metres, it said. The BMC has also asked fishermen to exercise caution. BMC commissioner Bhushan Gagarin has asked civic personnel to coordinate with the police, and security guards at beaches in the city have been directed to stop people from entering the waters.

Coastal road to save $100 mn a yr in carbon emissions: Mumbai civic chief

The opening of the coastal road's southbound carriageway between Worli and Marine Drive will reduce travel time from 40 minutes to just 9 minutes and save nearly USD 100 million annually in carbon emissions through fuel savings, Mumbai civic chief Iqbal Singh Chahal has said. The first phase of the coastal road project was inaugurated by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday morning. The public has been allowed to use it from 8 am on Tuesday. "The travelling time will be reduced from 40 minutes to 9 minutes now, and it would save nearly $100 million annually in carbon emissions through fuel savings," Chahal said on Monday. The coastal road of 10.58 km length and 16.5 km of interchanges, being built at a cost of Rs 14,000 crore, consists of four lanes on each side along with two 12.19 metre diameter tunnels of 2.07 km length, he said. These are the largest tunnels by diameter built by tunnel boring machines in the country, Chahal said. "It is for the first time in India that a ...

Mumbai plans to build Rs 4,120 crore treatment plant amid water woes

The water treatment plant will be one of the largest in the world in terms of capacity, the company said

Welspun secures Rs 4,123 crore order from BMC for water treatment plant

The water treatment plant will be located at BMC's Bhandup Complex, which currently supplies drinking water to Mumbai City through existing Water Treatment Plants

Mumbai to get Central Park on lines of New York on Racecourse land

A Central Park on the lines of one in New York will be developed on land surrendered by Mahalaxmi Racecourse in south Mumbai, municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal said on Friday. He was talking to reporters after presenting the annual budget of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. A 300-acer 'Mumbai Central Park' on the lines of Central Park in New York and Hyde park in London will be created by connecting the 175-acre Costal Road garden and 120-acre land of the racecourse by a subway, he said. Earlier there were reports that a theme park or an amusement park will come up on the land. "Every citizen will get free entry (to the proposed Central Park)," Chahal said, dismissing speculation that the land will be given to real estate developers.

BMC presents Rs 59,954.75 crore budget; 10.5% higher than last year

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), India's richest civic body, on Friday presented a Rs 59,954.75 crore budget for the year 2024-25. The budgetary estimates this time are 10.5 per cent more than the 2023-24 amount of Rs 54,256.07 crore. The civic administration presented the budget to municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal, who was appointed as BMC administrator by the state government after the five-year term of corporators ended in March 2022. The budget estimates for the financial year 2024-25 are proposed at Rs 59,954.75 crore, which exceeds the budget estimates of 2022-23, that is Rs 54,256.07 crore, by 10.5 per cent, said the budget document. This is the second time after 1985 that the BMC administration has presented the budget to an administrator as the five-year term of its corporators has ended.

Property registrations in Mumbai to touch 11-year high in Nov: Knight Frank

Mumbai is expected to witness 9,548 property registrations in November, reflecting a 7 per cent increase compared to the same month last year

Mumbai's double-decker buses ride into the sunset amid Bollywood memories

As BEST's double-decker retires from the road, a look at how it will remain immortalised in celluloid

BEST seeks Rs 3,419 cr from Mumbai civic body to procure new buses

The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking has sought Rs 3,419 crore from the city civic body to procure 2,237 buses, a letter by the transport authority revealed. The BEST's new general manager Vijay Singhal last month wrote to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal seeking Rs 3,419 crore financial assistance to purchase 2,237 buses in a phased manner. The transport body in the letter stated that as per clause no 3 in a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with BEST Workers Union on June 11, 2019, it is necessary for it to maintain 3,337 buses in its fleet. Highlighting the need for procuring 2,237 new buses, the transport body stated that it scrapped 1,696 of its buses before the end of March and 541 more are expected to be removed this financial year. Under the Capital Work Budget, a provision of Rs 2,58,391.25 lakh was made in 2022-23 (budget) for 1,696 electric buses and Rs 83,552.75 lakh is made in 2023-24 (budget)

Ensure no illegal slaughter in south Mumbai housing society on Bakrid: HC

The Bombay High Court has directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to ensure no illegal slaughtering of animals is carried out during the Bakrid festival at a residential colony in south Mumbai. Bakrid or Eid-al-Adha is being celebrated on Thursday. In a special urgent hearing held on Wednesday after the regular court hours, a division bench of Justices G S Kulkarni and Jitendra Jain said slaughtering can be permitted at the Nathani Heights society only if licence is granted by the civic body. "In the event, the Municipal Corporation has not issued a licence to undertake slaughtering of animals at the said place, the officers of the Municipal Corporation with the aid of the police personnel shall take appropriate action in accordance with law to prevent slaughtering of animals proposed for tomorrow (June 29)," the court said. The bench was hearing a petition filed by one Haresh Jain, a resident of the society, seeking complete ban on slaughtering of animals ...

Water stock in lakes down to 7%, BMC to impose water cut from Sat

With the level of lakes supplying water to Mumbai going down due to inadequate rainfall in their catchment areas, the city civic body has decided to impose a 10 per cent water cut here starting from Saturday, officials said. Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal has also appealed to citizens to save water and use it judiciously. The southwest monsoon covered Mumbai on Sunday, its entry into the financial capital being two weeks. Chahal told PTI on Wednesday that the BMC has decided to implement 10 water cut in Mumbai from July 1, as the stock in lakes supplying water to the city is about seven per cent. Mumbai receives 3,800 MLD (millions of litres per day) water from seven reservoirs namely Bhatsa, Upper Vaitarna, Middle Vaitarna, Tansa, Modak Sagar, Vihar and Tulsi, located in Mumbai, Thane and Nashik districts. According to a BMC report, the seven lakes had 7.26 per cent stock at 6 am on Wednesday. On the same day in 2022 and 2021, the lakes

4 patients admitted with H3N2 influenza virus in Mumbai, says BMC

Two deaths from suspected H3N2 influenza virus infection have been reported from Nagpur while another was reported from Ahmednagar district

Will expose BMC's 'Covid Ki Kamai' today, says BJP leader Kirit Somaiya

Hitting out at Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), BJP leader and former MP Kirit Somaiya on Wednesday said he will expose "one more scam of the BMC" later in the day

Covid-19 pandemic, political drama rocked Mumbai civic body in 2022

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, country's richest civic body, was governed by administrators for the better part of 2022, as the city emerged from the shadows of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the civic body's five-year term ended in March, the elections were stalled due to the pandemic at the start of the year and the subsequent political turmoil in Maharashtra, which saw the fall of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in June. Mumbai entered 2022 with a sudden rise in coronavirus cases, putting the BMC on alert. The city reported more than 20,000 daily cases for a few days at the start of the year, although the toll did not see a sharp rise. By April, the infections gradually ebbed, prompting the civic body to do away with the mask rule, which had been in force since 2020. The BMC also managed to vaccinate the entire adult population in the city against the deadly infection. It had administered 92,42,888 second doses of the vaccine, as against its target of 92,36,500 to

BMC prohibits staff from addressing media to counter fake information

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has issued a circular that only the civic chief and additional municipal commissioner will be authorised to speak to the media henceforth. In a circular issued on Monday, Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Chahal has instructed all other officers and staffers not to speak to the media. Only the municipal commissioner and concerned additional municipal commissioners will be the "competent authority" and they will be authorised to speak to the media, the circular said. Other officers and employees below the additional municipal commissioner rank are not authorised to speak to the media," it stated. The circular was issued after it was found that the department heads often shared information, including policy matters, with the media without the municipal commissioner's order, it said. Contradictory information was getting disseminated most of the time, which affected the civic body's image among the public, the circular said.

Ex-corporators write to Maharashtra CM alleging lack of transparency in BMC

Several former corporators of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation have written a letter, which they termed as an "SOS call", to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, alleging lack of transparency, financial mismanagement, policy paralysis and arbitrary transfers under the rule of state-appointed administrator and civic chief Iqbal Singh Chahal. The letter signed by 94 former corporators cutting across the party lines, including former mayor Kishori Pednekar of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), claimed that the morale of officers was at an "all-time low" and the entire governance had come to a standstill as the operations were being run as per the "whims and fancies" of the administrator. In the letter written on December 12, they urged Shinde to "intervene immediately" and direct the administrator to publish a white paper on the state of affairs of the BMC, saying that they were unable to see the "deep rot" and "decline" of the BMC. The term of these corporators end

MCD elections 2022: Here's how to check your name in the voter list

Here are a few ways through which you can check for your name on the electoral list before you head out to vote