Patriotism at a cost for Marine Drive residents | Mumbai news - Hindustan Times
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Patriotism at a cost for Marine Drive residents

Aug 09, 2022 01:00 AM IST

The A ward of the BMC that covers Colaba and Marine Drive has sent letters to residents of art-deco buildings on Marine Drive urging them to light up their buildings to mark Independence Day

Mumbai Patriotism will not come cheap for residents of Marine Drive buildings, as they have been urged to shell out big bucks to illuminate their buildings in the tricolour from August 13-15. Several residents have declined the proposal as the cost of illumination comes to above a lakh and a half.

Another local resident, requesting anonymity, said that more than 20 buildings in the area have declined the proposa (Bhushan Koyande)
Another local resident, requesting anonymity, said that more than 20 buildings in the area have declined the proposa (Bhushan Koyande)

While the BMC has appointed contractors to provide the logistics, manpower and electrical equipment, the owners of private buildings will have to bear the cost. Ashok Gupta, vice president of Marine Drive Citizens’ Association (MDCA) said that he has received an estimate from one of the contractors, which says the cost of illumination for three days in a private building would be 1,57,600 plus 18% GST. “We have declined the offer. Paying 20,000-30,000 for three days would be fine but here the cost is more than a lakh for each building. Since it’s a national affair, the BMC must provide some incentives to the citizens to do this,” said Gupta.

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Another local resident, requesting anonymity, said that more than 20 buildings in the area have declined the proposal. He also said the rate cited by the civic-appointed contractors varies from building to building. “We understand this is a patriotic event. The BMC or the state should have kept a blanket fee structure that would be convenient and affordable,” the resident said. Civic officials said the rates vary marginally depending on the number of bulbs required for each building.

The A ward of the BMC that covers Colaba and Marine Drive has sent letters to residents of art-deco buildings on Marine Drive urging them to light up their buildings to mark Independence Day.

Shivadas Gurav, assistant municipal commissioner and in charge of A ward of the BMC, said the civic body is exploring options to raise funds through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to ease the financial burden. “The cost of illuminating the buildings at Marine Drive has been fixed at 1.57 lakh plus GST. Several private building owners have expressed their concern about the high rates. Therefore, we are trying to incentivise the cost by raising additional funds from corporate firms,” Gurav told HT on Monday. He claimed that so far 14 buildings in Churchgate and Marine Drive area have given their consent to illuminate their buildings, including the Zara building, HDFC building, LIC building and SBI headquarters.

Harshita Narwekar, former BJP corporator from Cuffe Parade, said the cost of illuminating buildings in her area is between 25,000- 30,000. “In my constituency, the BMC will be paying for the illumination cost of the traffic junction and public places, while the cost of private societies will be borne by the owners,” said Narwekar.

Parag Udani, resident and chairperson of Sunflower building in Cuffe Parade, said, “We are the first building that will be illuminated in a pilot manner. The cost of illuminating our building has been pegged at 25,000 for three days. We are participating in this voluntarily and nobody has forced us to take up this initiative.”

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