Congress’s Zakaria questions urgency to spend ₹350 cr on Bollywood art installations under Metro 2B

The installations, which include Bollywood-themed sculptures, posters, LED lights, motifs, and stickers, are part of the MMRDA’s plan to beautify the area beneath the viaducts and cement girders of the elevated metro line, which runs in the middle of SV Road

Mumbai: Congress leader Asif Zakaria has written to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) questioning the urgency to spend ₹350 crore on Bollywood-themed art installations below the under-construction Metro line 2B, along the arterial SV Road between Bandra West and Juhu.

Congress’s Zakaria questions urgency to spend ₹350 cr on Bollywood art installations under Metro 2B

The installations, which include Bollywood-themed sculptures, posters, LED lights, motifs, and stickers, are part of the MMRDA’s plan to beautify the area beneath the viaducts and cement girders of the elevated metro line, which runs in the middle of SV Road.

Such areas beneath metro lines and flyovers are usually filled with greenery or encroached by parked and abandoned vehicles. The idea to beautify the area below the Metro 2B line with Bollywood-themed art was proposed by Mumbai BJP president and Bandra West MLA Ashish Shelar, who defeated Zakaria in the recently held Maharashtra assembly elections.

In a letter to MMRDA on November 27, Zakaria wrote: “The Metro line 2B is still under construction and is expected to be commissioned only after two years. What is the urgency to carry out beautification at this stage? The two sample installations put up on SV Road, Bandra, are gigantic, distasteful and disproportionate in size.”

Zakaria, who lost to Shelar by 19,931 votes in the assembly elections, told HT: “Such art installations are a complete waste of money, which was proposed by Ashish Shelar with great urgency. They are being installed at a cost of ₹350 crore between Juhu and Bandra West below Metro 2B.” Shelar was not available for comment.

MMRDA officials said the project was greenlit as a dedication to Hindi cinema, considering many actors and film personalities live in the western suburbs between Bandra West and Juhu.“This is part of the plan to have thematic designs of each area to be reflected along the metro routes. Each area has a different flavour and the same will be seen on the [Metro 2B] line as well,” said an MMRDA official, who requested anonymity as they aren’t authorised to speak to the media.

The installations will come up along seven stations and 355 pillars of Metro line 2B. The themes for the installations are divided into three eras: 1913-1939, which begins with Dadasaheb Phalke and his landmark film ‘Raja Harishchandra’; 1940-1967, which includes the legendary Dilip Kumar and his generation of artists; and the rest of cinematic history until the present day.