BMC justifies Uddhav Thackeray's Shivaji Park swearing-in ceremony

The civic body was responding to a plea by NGO Wecom Trust on whether Shivaji Park was a playground or a recreation ground

Justifying the swearing in ceremony of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray at Shivaji Park in Dadar, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation on Tuesday told Bombay High Court the ground can be used for non-sporting events for a maximum of 45 days in a year.

The civic body was responding to a plea by NGO Wecom Trust on whether Shivaji Park was a playground or a recreation ground. The NGO had filed the plea last month, before the swearing-in ceremony of Thackeray, which took place on November 28.

In an affidavit filed before a division bench of Justices S C Dharmadhikari and R I Chagla, the BMC said, as per a government resolution in 2016, Shivaji Park can be used for a maximum of 45 days in a year for events other than sporting and recreational activities.

The GR provides a list of functions that can be held at the ground, it said, adding six days have been reserved for holding programmes approved by the state government. The civic body further said requests for holding functions other than those specified in the GR are forwarded to the state government for approval.

"Since the year 2016, the said maidan has not been used for more than the specified 45 days in a given year," it added.

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