Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray demands BMC elections at earliest

Aaditya Thackeray. File Photo

The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Friday demanded the holding of the long-pending elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which is currently under a Maharashtra government-appointed administrator, reported PTI.

As per the PTI report, speaking in the assembly, the MLA from Worli in Mumbai pointed out that the metropolis hasn't had corporators for more than two years now, and the posts of 15 civic ward officers are lying vacant.

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According to the news agency report, the former minister stated, "People have to go to local MLAs for the work that has to be done at the civic level," as he pushed for holding polls in the country's richest civic body at the earliest so that the city gets elected representatives.

State Industries Minister Uday Samant told the house that the government has asked the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) to start the process to fill the vacant posts of ward officers, reported PTI.

Elections to the BMC and some other big municipal corporations, including those of Thane and Pune, are due since early 2022.

Senior IAS officer Bhushan Gagrani, the current municipal commissioner, is also functioning as the administrator of the civic body, which in February saw the presentation of a Rs 59,954.75 crore budget for the years 2024-25.

Earlier, Aaditya Thackeray had penned a letter to the newly appointed Civil Aviation Minister, Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, urging him to reconsider the proposal for establishing an airport in the Palghar Strip. The proposed airport is intended to enhance the air travel infrastructure within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

Meanwhile, experts have weighed the proposal, stating that it will help alleviate the air traffic congestion further at Mumbai airport.

In his letter, Thackeray highlighted the growing need for improved air travel facilities in Mumbai, one of India's busiest and most densely populated metropolitan areas.

He wrote, "We had also begun work to initiate an airport in Palghar district that could be a third airport for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), thereby supporting the region and west coast of India in passenger and cargo traffic. This proposal too, despite repeated requests, was ignored by the BJP."

"The existing airport is operating at near-full capacity, and the addition of another airport in the Palghar strip could distribute the air traffic more evenly, ensuring a smoother travel experience for passengers and fostering economic development in the region," said a retired Air Traffic Control official.