BMC receives over 3.8k applications for setting up Ganpati pandals

In 2023, the BMC received 3,767 applications, out of which permissions were given to 2,729 applicants.

Naresh Dahibhavkar, president of Brihanmumbai Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Samanvay Samiti, (BSGSS) told The Indian Express on Friday that while the official numbers show the permissions were granted online, there were cases where many applicants received offline permission.

“This year, alongside BMC, the mandals require permission from the police and traffic department as well.

Therefore, while the BMC has cleared the proposal in many cases the permission clearance is pending from the other agencies,” Dahibhavkar told Express.

“Also, many mandals have taken offline permission for their mandals. This record needs to be updated, that’s why the numbers are showing lower than last year. The number of applications going up shows that the number of mandals in Mumbai has increased,” he added.

Meanwhile, data shows that out of the 3,858 applications that BMC received this year, around 532 were duplicate applications and a total of 3,326 applications were taken up for scrutiny, of which 2,462 applications have been cleared by the civic authorities. The BMC’s data show that around 187 applications are pending with the police, while 143 applications are pending with the traffic department.

“Out of the total applications that were taken up for scrutiny, around 75% have been granted permission by us, and around 16% of the applications are pending and will be cleared by the end of the day. The remaining 9% have been rejected due to incomplete documents. This year, we had made a single window system… However, the number of applications received appear to be higher considering there have been several cases where duplicate applications were submitted by a single applicant,” said a civic official.

Meanwhile, civic authorities informed that this year, the BMC will be setting up more than 200 artificial lakes in Mumbai. These lakes consist of inflatable tubes that are filled with water. Civic officials said the lakes will allow hassle free immersion of idols and will also prevent the water bodies from getting polluted.