BMC: Will not give BSE rent waiver for blocking road

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has refused to give Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) any waiver or concession on rent charges towards blocking vehicular

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has refused to give Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) any waiver or concession on rent charges towards blocking vehicular access around its building at Fort. BSE currently owes the civic body around ₹2 crore in rent for the area.

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This comes after the BMC offered Hotel Taj Mahal Palace near Gateway of India a 50% waiver on rent charges of around ₹9 crore, for enclosing a portion of the road and footpath outside the property.

The BSE has installed bollards and blocked access to vehicular movement around its building citing instructions from security agencies. Following BMC’s refusal for concession, the exchange said the civic body should take over maintenance of the bollards and also consult the police, keeping in mind the national security of the building, before taking any action.

Hotel Taj Mahal Palace has barricaded a portion of the road and footpath for security reasons after the November 2008 terrorist attack. BSE had also witnessed a terrorist attack in 1993.

When contacted, spokespersons of both BSE and Hotel Taj Mahal Palace declined to comment on the issue.

A BMC official from A ward, said, “We have denied any waiver to BSE considering it had asked us to waive off all the charges. ”

The official said, “Also, the waiver to the Taj is subject to approval of the standing committee. We are also drafting a complete policy on charging rent to such entities, subject to the order from the Lokayukta.”

Ravi Raja, leader of opposition in the BMC and Congress corporator, said, “Keeping aside the decision to give a waiver to one and denying the other, my point is, why should BMC give a waiver to anyone? BMC is already going to face a financial crunch.”