Single-window clearance for Ganesh pandals from next year

MUMBAI: With 85% Ganesh pandals still awaiting nod from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and police, the state government will start from the next year

MUMBAI: With 85% Ganesh pandals still awaiting nod from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and police, the state government will start from the next year a single-window system for all permissions required by these organising committees, right from erecting pandal structures to carrying out processions. The decision was taken in a review meeting convened by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis along with mandal representatives on Monday evening.

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Ganesh mandals require multiple permissions for their construction on roads and organisation of cultural programmes during the festival. These requests include BMC’s permission for constructing pandals, an NOC from the police for carrying out processions, charity commissioner’s nod for collecting donations and temporary power supply from BEST, among others.

“All these permissions will be made available to mandals through single-window system from the next year,” an official said, adding, “It was a demand made by mandals to which the CM responded positively.”

As per a BMC report, on August 20, a total of 771 applications for erecting pandals were received, of which, 89 had been denied permission and 20 were given a thumbs up.

While 590 applications have been pending with the police , 72 have been awaiting approval from various ward offices, bringing the total figure of pending applications to 662, which is 85% of the total requests.

The chief minister said that pandals have been allowed to use loudspeakers till midnight for four days. He also announced a cash prize for the most beautiful Ganesh idol for the first time this year.

The award will be given to the sculptor , he wrote on the microblogging website, Twitter, on Monday evening.