Mixed signals or blatant hypocrisy?

Uddhav Thackeray's warning to authorities has made it difficult for BMC to do its job. Representa

After Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray's address on celebrating Ganeshotsav with zest, and warning authorities to not reject applications for construction of pandals, the Sena-run Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is now finding it difficult to even take action against those constructing pandals without permissions.

Also, with the BMC accepting applications manually, even after making the process online, it has made the whole thing smoother for Ganesh mandals, which are now confident of securing all required permissions. While last Saturday, Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta had instructed his officials to reject applications that did not adhere to HC orders, Uddhav said they would hold maha aartis on the streets if permissions were not granted.

But the fact that pandals are being constructed all around even before permissions are doled out is adding to civic officials' misery. No action has been taken against any errant mandal, and even the size of the structures hasn't been reduced, leaving barely any space for pedestrians to walk on.

HC has already come down heavily on the BMC, warning of a contempt of court case against it. A senior civic official said, "This is the first year [of online submission], and because mandals might face problems, we decided to accept offline. We will key in all the data in the applications online in the presence of mandal representatives. All permissions will be given online itself. We will extend our full cooperation to mandals."

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