Over 1,300 Ganpati mandals still await BMC nod

Andhericha Samrat being taken to the pandal. Pic/Sameer Markande

Ganeshotsav mandals in the city have started bringing Ganesh idols to the pandals, but the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is yet to grant permissions to over 1,300 of them. With less than three weeks for Ganeshotsav, city mandals are finding BMC's process too slow, as just 500 of the approximately over 2,000 applications to erect pandals have received permissions so far. The online application deadline is August 19, which is Monday.

So far, 2,381 applications have come from Ganesh mandals. Of these, permissions have been granted to 509 mandals and 157 have been rejected. There was a duplication of 396 applications, which were discarded, and 1,319 are still under scrutiny. The reasons for rejection of the applications is mainly obstructing traffic and not having fire safety measures in place, while some have been rejected over lack of documents, revealed sources.

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No possibility of extension

While the BMC claimed that chances of giving extra time for applications are slim, as the window for applying for permissions was open since June, the mandals said they were not aware of this. Further, the confusion over acceptance through online and offline applications, too, prevailed this year. Due to technical difficulties, the process is slow and hence, mandals want a deadline extension.

A civic official said, "Meetings were held with mandals' representatives to apprise them of the process, but it was only towards the end of July that the applications were uploaded. We are also accepting applications on weekends and holidays so that many can come in before August 19."

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'Fast-track applications'

Naresh Dahibavkar, president of Brihanmumbai Sarvajanik Ganeshoutsav Samanway Samiti said, "We have asked the BMC to accept applications on weekends as Monday is the last day for applying for permission. We have been coordinating with the BMC and telling them whatever the mandals have been demanding. We have also asked the BMC to fast-track the pending applications as many mandals have started bringing their idols to the pandals."

A representative of a mandal at Andheri said, "Over 1,000-odd applications are pending and if there is a document error, will not get time to re-apply as the last day for application is Monday." Narendra Barde, deputy municipal commissioner, was not available for comment.

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