19 January,2011 06:20 AM IST | | Rinkita Gurav
Civic body blames event organisers for messing up the city, claims they haven't paid dues of Rs 1.88 crore
After making the city run on Sunday, Mumbai Marathon organiser Procam International is now being chased by the BMC for violating municipal laws. The corporation has decided to levy fines on it for littering and damaging the roads.
This was the state of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link after the marathon on Sunday
Civic officials said that the organiser of the road race was told to clean the marathon route after the event but it didn't.
They added that Procam is also yet to pay its dues of Rs 1.88 crore charges for cleaning activities post the race for the last two years' events.
Rahul Shewale, chairperson of BMC's Standing Committee, said, "The organisers have violated BMC laws and will be fined for it. If they fail to comply, their permission for next year's event will be scrapped."
BMC has decided to retain Rs 1 lakh out of the security deposit of Rs 15 lakh that Procam had given the BMC before the event.
Deputy Municipal Commissioner (Zone 1) Milind Sawant said, "The cost of labour for cleaning will be deducted from the deposited money. The maintenance department will also impose a fine for damaging some roads.
u00a0
The ward officers are calculating the amount and the final penalty will be decided in a few days."
The marathon organiser had built stalls and booths at various points in the city for which the roads were dug. Sawant added, "The pre-event cleaning charge will also be levied on the organisers."
B P Patil, chief engineer, solid waste management, BMC, said, "The clean up was done by civic workers and the amount of garbage collected will be assessed in a few days.
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I am awaiting the report from the ward offices."
BMC Corporator Vinod Shekhar has asked the corporation to cancel next year's marathon should the organisers fail to pay the dues.
"The organisers should be asked to present all their financial transactions, which should be available for public scrutiny," said Shekhar.
Rs 200
The fine BMC levies on citizens for littering the road
38,000
The number of participants at the marathon this year
Fined for Noise
The marathon organisers have also been booked by the Azad Maidan police for violating the Supreme Court's silence zone law. They have been fined Rs 5,000 for using loudspeakers before 6 am. "We have already received the fine amount from the organisers," said a police official.
The Other Side
Bruno Goveas, spokesperson of Procam International, the marathon organiser, said, "We have not received any notification from the BMC or the police on the fine to be levied on us. We would prefer to respond on the matter after we receive an official notification." Heu00a0 added that they had made arrangements for cleaning the route and it was carried out in time after the event. "Our workers had cleaned the whole stretch and we did not violate any by-law," he said.
