Give BMC a say in govt's infra projects: Sena

The Shiv Sena has urged chief minister Prithviraj Chavan to make a law to ensure that no big-ticket infrastructure projects are cleared without the civic body’s approval.

The Shiv Sena has urged chief minister Prithviraj Chavan to make a law to ensure that no big-ticket infrastructure projects are cleared without the civic body’s approval.

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The Sena is part of the saffron alliance that has been re-elected to power in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

On Tuesday, Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray met Chavan with his demand.

“We run the [civic] body, providing all the necessary services to run Mumbai seamlessly. We provide the maximum revenue to the state and the Centre. But when it comes to taking decisions on vital projects in Mumbai, the state government does not take our opinion. We want a law in place which will ensure this involvement,” Thackeray said after the meeting.

Thackeray said that there was lack of coordination between the BMC and the various state-owned civic agencies.

“Take, for example, the Middle Vaitarna project where the BMC is the implementing agency. There is a power plant being constructed on this dam, for which the state has hired an agency without even consulting us. Many decisions on FSI hikes are taken without asking us, despite the fact that we have to provide infrastructure for supporting it,” Thackeray said.