The newly renovated 'Town Hall' was inaugurated on Sunday, May 1, and was handed over to the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) for the day-to-day management of the historical heritage.
However, the move was opposed by Thane BJP MLA Sanjay Kelkar of the district administration of handing over the heritage to the civic body and threatened agitation if the need arises.
Speaking with the media, Sanjay Kelkar said, "Parsi family donated the Town Hall for use as a venue for prestigious public functions and it was always under the control of district administrator with the collector being the head of affairs."
"I, along with many party workers from BJP, have always done a regular follow-up for the renovation of the Town Hall which was in bad shape and we initiated the plan to renovate it. It should be noted that after the renovation the Town Hall is managed very nicely by the collectorate with the help of prominent citizens associated with arts and culture. However, one thing which I did not like is the handing of its management to the TMC," Kelkar added.
Kelkar further said, "for the renovation of the historical Town Hall, the MLA and MP funds were used and our demand is that the district administration should scrap its move to hand the management to TMC."
"Earlier too, the Town Hall was given to the ration department for the management which made a mess of the venue. As Eknath Shinde said that the Town Hall's historical status should be preserved for the coming generation."
