Nod for ₹9 crore waiver proposal for Taj hotel in Mumbai
The Shiv Sena-headed standing committee of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) passed a proposal to waive over ₹9 crore payable by Hotel Taj Mahal Palace, amid opposition from the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party, Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
According to the BMC’s proposal that was tabled in the standing committee on Wednesday, after the 26/11 attacks, Hotel Taj Mahal Palace occupied around 800sqm of public road and over 1,100 sqm of footpath for security purposes, for which over ₹10.18 crore is payable. Of the ₹10.18 crore, the BMC had proposed to waive around ₹8.85 crore for occupation of footpath as requested by the Hotel Taj Mahal Palace, citing that the exercise was being undertaken for security reasons and not for commercial purposes. For the remaining ₹1.33 crore, the BMC had proposed to give 50% waiver to the hotel. However, the opposition has alleged that the BMC is charging other commercial establishments despite similar purposes, and hence the hotel should not be given any waiver.
Hotel Taj Mahal Palace did not issue a comment on Wednesday. However, in a statement issued by the hotel on Tuesday, said: “Since there are multiple authorities and regulatory bodies involved, we continue to stay in constant dialogue with all of them, and will ensure compliance and implementation of appropriate measures suggested by them.”
Ravi Raja, Congress corporator and leader of Opposition in the BMC, said, “The Shiv Sena has become a party of the rich, as it does not give any waiver or relief to common man, but is giving relief to corporate houses and five-star hotels. The proposal was passed by the Shiv Sena without discussion and allowing corporators to speak. The Lokayukta has clearly asked the BMC to frame a policy on giving waiver, and in such scenario, how can we waive money for one hotel without any policy?”
Bhalchandra Shirsat, BJP corporator and standing committee member of the BMC, said, “The BMC or state government does not give any waiver to common man, but it is being given to big companies. The corporation did not pay salary to disabled employees citing cash crunch, and here it is giving a waiver of over ₹9.50 crore for no reason.”
Lalit Jain, civic activist from Colaba, said, “The BMC does not give any relief to the common man, and it should not give waiver to the five-star hotel. In the past, the BMC denied giving concession or waiver to Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) for using bollards and blocking access on advice of security agencies. I will challenge this in the court.”
Meanwhile, Yashwant Jadhav, Shiv Sena corporator and standing committee chairman, was not available for a comment.
Less time to read?
Try Quickreads
-
Maharashtra Congress huddle to discuss social media strategy
Mumbai: In an attempt to develop a social media narrative in favour of the party and a counter-strategy to trolls, the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee will hold a two-day social media conclave in Nagpur over the weekend. This two-day state level and national 'Navsankalpa Social Media conclave' will be organised on May 28 and 29. Functionaries from the Congress central leadership and from various states will participate in the sessions on Sunday.
-
HC quashes appointment of BSF officers as jail superintendents in Punjab
The Punjab and Haryana high court has quashed the Punjab government's decision of October 2020 for appointment of Border Security Force officers as jail superintendents in central jails of the state. “…the entire cadre of superintendent, central jails, has been handed over to total strangers,” it held while quashing the October 2020 appointments by the then Congress government. These appointments, made on deputation basis for three years, were challenged by Baljit Singh and three others.
-
2,250 police families to own BDD service quarters at ₹50 lakh
Mumbai Maharashtra government on Wednesday decided to provide permanent houses to the families of police personnel living at the Bombay Development Directorate chawls for almost half the cost of construction at ₹50 lakh. Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray took a review meeting of the ongoing BDD Chawl redevelopment project. State housing minister Jitendra Awhad said that the construction cost for one flat is between ₹1.05 crore to ₹1.15 crore.
-
Early detection, intervention key to help special kids: Experts
During a global online consultation on creating holistic support systems and enabling environments for children with disabilities, experts from India, Slovenia, UAE and USA stressed the importance of early detection and intervention. Institute for Career Studies, founder-director, Amrita Dass, spoke about empowering the kids with meaningful and fulfilling career choices. Suzana Drabik, project manager, International Center for Promotion of Enterprises, Slovenia, shared her perspective as a mother of a child with special needs.
-
Govt prepares to shift BSRTC buses op to Patliputra ISBT amid growing demands from pvt transporters
Buses under the Bihar state road transport corporation running from Bankipur bus depot at Gandhi Maidan will soon shift to the new Patliputra inter-state bus terminal at Bariaya chak on the outskirts of the city amid the growing demands from private transporters to shift plying of government buses from the new terminal, said Patna district magistrate. BSRTC buses run on different routes including various locations in Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.
