Bal Thackeray memorial closer to reality

Mumbai: The Shiv Sena finally got into the act by passing the proposal of allotting the mayor’s bungalow at Shivaji Park for the construction of Bal Thackeray memorial in the civic House on Monday.

With this, the city’s mayor will now have a new address as the BMC has decided to move the official mayoral residence to a bungalow behind the zoological garden in Byculla. The bungalow has been vacant for more than a year and repairs have been carried out. As the polls are over, the new mayor will be decided soon.

The proposal to hand over the mayor’s bungalow plot to the Balasaheb Thackeray Rashtriya Smarak Nyas (BTRSN), headed by Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, for the construction of the memorial was approved without any discussion in the civic House. Last month, the BMC improvements committee had given its nod to lease out 11,500 square metres of the mayor’s bungalow plot for the construction of the Thackeray memorial at a nominal rate of Rs 1 per annum for a period of 30 years. However, the proposal was stuck due to the BMC polls code of conduct.

“It was my one of the proudest moments during my tenure as mayor when the proposal to allot the mayor’s bungalow for the construction of Balasaheb Thackeray’s memorial was passed,” said outgoing mayor Snehal Ambekar.

The proposal says that the BTRSN can use 1.33 floor space index (FSI) for the memorial. It cannot sub-lease or rent the plot to the other party. It also cannot carry out additional construction, repairs or changes without prior permission of civic officials.

 For the memorial to come up at the mayor’s bungalow, the authorities would still need to procure permission from several agencies, especially the coastal regulation zone (CRZ) and heritage committee.