BMC looks for hotels to house its front-line team members

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Friday has issued circular directing ward officers of all 24 wards in the city to identify hotels for accommodation

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Friday has issued circular directing ward officers of all 24 wards in the city to identify hotels for accommodation of the front-line staff workers. The BMC, in the circular, has said that several front-line staff members including doctors, medical staff and all those involved in emergency work related to Covid-19, stay far off from their workplace, and are facing problems while travelling.

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The circular states that it cannot be ruled out that the front-line staff workers could get exposed to the virus while travelling daily to work and back home. All 24 wards have now been directed to prepare a list of hotels in their areas and book them for front-line staff workers. A rate slab has been issued, wherein, the BMC will spend anywhere between ₹500 to ₹2,000 for a room in several hotels including five-star hotels. Each room will accommodate a maximum of two officers.

In a statement issued on Friday, the BMC said, “We had provided accommodation to several of our staff members in Taj Hotel after the hotel had approached us offering their services for free. However, it was decided to pay a minimal amount for the occupancy of the accommodation facilities to Taj Group, that was accepted by them without any conditions. Similarly, now we have decided to identify hotels for all front-line staff members, throughout the city, on the same lines.”

The circular issued by the BMC has allowed the ward officers to identify such rooms in five stars, four-star, three-star and non-star hotels, for which the rate card has been decided. As per the card ₹2,000 per room with two persons in a five-star hotel, ₹1,500 for a four-star hotel, ₹1,000 for three hotels, and ₹500 for non-star hotel, will be spent.

The statement added, “Due to lockdown, local train services are shut and several of our front-line staff members are coming from far off places, and for this, a lot of is spent on transportation. Hence, we have decided to provide accommodation for them.”

According to BMC officials, this will ensure the safe distance of front-line staff workers from their respective family members.