Mumbai: Patwardhan Park tender deadline extended, again

Residents have been fighting hard to save the park, where a multi-storey parking lot is being planned. File photo

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has for the tenth time extended the deadline to bid for tenders to construct an underground parking lot at the Patwardhan Park in Khar West, even as a Public Interest Litigation against it is being heard in the Bombay High Court.

The issue of constructing a three-level underground facility beneath the open space has been the subject of prolonged debate between the BMC administration and residents and activists of Khar and Bandra. The BMC had floated a tender with the estimated cost of Rs 75 crore on March 6.

The intention was to build the underground parking at Patwardhan Park in Bandra West. Initially, the final date for bid submission was April 3. In August, the BMC separated the tenders for the other two parking lots, as no objections were raised for those locations.

The ninth extension had set the Patwardhan Park deadline as October 25, which haw now been further pushed to November 28. "There is no limit on the number of extensions, neither is there a time limit for tenders," a BMC official said.

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"The BMC has been extending the dates since last seven months without the matter even getting heard by the high court. Why don't they just scrap the tender?" said activist Zoru Bathena.

The petitioners are seeking that the BMC permanently restrain itself from carrying out any excavation or removal of natural earth or mud for the construction of the parking lot or any other project of a similar nature at the park.