Mumbai: BMC to crack down on illegal pandals

Preparations for Ganesh Utsav underway at a workshop in Parel. Pic/Bipin Kokate

With the fear of the Bombay High Court slamming the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) again this year and charging them for aggravated contempt for illegal Ganesh pandals during the eleven days of Ganesh Utsav, starting September 13, the municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta has instructed ward officials to ensure there are no illegal makeshift tents this time around.

Last year, the High Court had rapped the BMC for several pandals that came up without due permission, as these were creating traffic issues in the city and noise pollution.

Every year, pandals are neither given permissions nor are rejected outright. The Ganesh mandals blame the BMC as they allege their applications are pending. The BMC, in turn, doesn't take any action as it could result in hurting religious sentiments. To avoid these issues, Mehta has instructed that ward officers should take a call on every application.

An official statement from the BMC stated that the municipal commissioner has asked that the officials should devote one hour of their daily work towards helping the office bearers of different Ganesh mandals to fill in the online application.

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