Mumbai: The BMC has taken up a beautification project of the Shantaram Pond located in Kurar Village, Malad East at the cost of Rs 92 lakh, and moved the proposal before the standing committee for final approval which is slated to meet on Friday.
Shantaram Talav is located adjacent to the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Garden along the Western Express Highway in Malad. The garden and the pond are surrounded by stalls, toilets obstructing the citizens' view of the main gate.
The proposal says that the BMC will beautify the main gate and the footpath and also make security arrangements outside the garden and the pond.
Since the last three years, the local corporators and other public representatives have repeatedly petitioned the BMC to beautify the said area.
Accordingly, the BMC has decided to repair the footpath, construct a security perimeter wall and beautify the main gate. Along with that, the BMC also plans to shift the toilet and the library from the garden.
The proposal further stated that the ownership of the pond was with the collector and in 2019, the state government had handed over the ownership to the civic body.
The BMC has invited tenders for the work in which M/S Maval Construction won the bid and has agreed to complete the work at 2 per cent less than the estimated cost.
BJP corporator Vinod Mishra said that the beautification of the pond was a longstanding demand of the residents and the public representatives. "BMC did not allocate the funds because I am the corporator of the area. Eventually, BMC has decided to beautify it. The beautification work will benefit the people of Malad," he said.
Mishra added that wanted to construct a toilet near Western Express Highway which he had opposed. "After my complaint, the MMRDA had also raised objections to the construction of the toilet," he added.
