Holding public events in city gets easier, biz expected to see boost

Mumbai: Holding events in the city is set to get a lot easier. Reason being the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), as part of its “ease of doing business” initiative, has simplified the process of giving permissions to events. Permissions can now be obtained within three days using a single-window system.

A senior civic official said, “Under the ‘ease of doing business’ initiative, the BMC has started a one-window system for event permission. In addition to this, the process of charges and fees calculation for events has also been simplified. As the process has been expedited, all permissions will be given within 72 hours (three days) of completing the application process.”

Civic officials said that to hold any event at an open space, organisers earlier needed to obtain permissions from four different municipal departments including health, building and factories, maintenance and license. Furthermore, charges were levied by BMC per square metre of the plot, which made the process tedious and time-consuming.

The official said, “Under the one-window system, the organizer, instead of applying to four departments, has to apply only to the concerned department for event permission. If a fire no-objection certificate is required, that too can be sought from the same system.”

Earlier, land charges were levied per square metre, which required on-the-spot measurement of the proposed venue. The process has now been made applicable for three categories including up to 500 sq mt; 1000 sq mt; and more than 1000 sq mt. After making the application and paying the required fees, event permission will be given within 72 hours, the official said.