Mumbai: The Shiv Sena (UBT) and BJP are clashing once more over the coastal road project. Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray has accused the Shinde-led government of approving numerous hoardings along the coastal road, commercially exploiting open spaces and gardens.
In response, BJP Mumbai President Ashish Shelar has raised concerns about the BMC's failure to submit a required affidavit to the Centre, which certifies that no commercial structures would be erected on the reclaimed land of the coastal road. He met with Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani and demanded an inquiry of the civic officials involved and the pressures that led to the affidavit not being submitted to the Centre.
Shelar and other MLAs of BJP Manisha Chaudhary and Mihir Kotecha met Gagrani in civic headquarters on Monday. "As part of the coastal road project, 180 acres of new land were created through the reclamation of material deposited into the sea. At the time, the Central Environmental Ministry imposed a condition stipulating that this newly created land could not be used for commercial purposes and no construction could be undertaken on it. The BMC was required to provide a written affidavit affirming this restriction. However, during Uddhav Thackeray's government, this crucial affidavit was not submitted to the Centre," said Shelar.
While talking to a media person, Shelar pointed out that, 'The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) also raised concerns regarding this lapse. Despite repeated requests from central ministers, the affidavit remained unsent. It was eventually provided by the Mahayuti government. What were the reasons behind this oversight and whether any vested interests were involved? We have requested the municipal commissioner to carry out an investigation to determine which officials were responsible for the failure to submit the affidavit and whether any undue pressure was exerted on them.'
Meanwhile, Thackeray met with Gagrani on Monday to discuss various issues. He alleged that numerous hoardings have been approved at Tata Gardens and Haji Ali Gardens along the coastal road, purportedly to benefit contractor associates of the BJP.
Thackeray has called for the immediate cancellation of these contracts and demanded a thorough investigation into the two tenders for financial misconduct. 'Once the Maha Vikas Aghadi government comes in power in November, we will scrap the hoarding contracts and demolish any hoardings if they are installed in gardens along the coastal road project in violation of norms,' said Thackeray.
However, Shelar denied any proposals for erecting hoardings along the coastal road, citing that it falls under the Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ). He said that 'Thackeray's frustration stemmed solely from his favored contractors not receiving any work related to hoardings.'
In response to an RTI query filed by activist Anil Galgali, the BMC has disclosed that a fine of only Rs. 35 crore has been imposed on the contractors for the Mumbai Coastal Road project. Despite this, the ambitious project has repeatedly missed its deadlines, and no new completion date has been announced, Galgali pointed out.
