Mumbai: BMC plans Rs 100-crore facelift for Dadar, Shivaji Park, Mahim

Last month, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had announced a beautification plan for Mumbai, estimated to cost Rs 17,000 crore.

The additional municipal commissioner of G North ward, with jurisdiction over Dadar and Mahim, confirmed the development to The Indian Express on Tuesday.

While the proposed project is estimated to cost BMC over Rs 100 crore, some of the interventions – set to cost Rs 92 crore – have been proposed by the G North ward to the civic administration within the last month. The ward is now awaiting budgetary sanction.

Some others interventions – estimated to cost Rs 15 crore – have already received approval from the civic administration, according to a senior BMC official from the ward.

Apart from the multimedia show along the Mahim and Dadar beaches, BMC has also proposed a digital aquarium inside the park opposite Chaityabhumi. This will provide tourists an experience of walking underground though a tunnel, with water and marine life overhead.

The BMC has proposed light shows along the beach projecting three-dimentional images of crabs, fish and seashells on to the sand along the shore, immovable self-lit art installations called ‘glow-objects” on the beach like plants, seating arrangements and amenities, a senior official in charge of the project said.

Further, once the restoration of the Mahim fort is complete over the next two years, BMC plans to organise laser shows in the fort precinct, where images are projected daily on to the structures surrounding the fort after dark.

The civic body has also planned a period-theme facelift for the junction at Portugese Church, with murals in surrounding areas paying tribute to the fort and its history, a senior official said. A consultant has already been appointed by the BMC to propose a plan for this.

Among projects that have already received administrative sanction, works have been divided between two departments of the G North ward – the solid waste management (SWM) and maintenance departments.

The SWM department has undertaken projects worth Rs 6 crore, which include beautification of footpaths in Shivaji Park, Old Cadell Road and Gokhlae road, with motif lighting true to the heritage nature of the area. The maintenance department, meanwhile, has undertaken projects estimated to cost Rs 9 crore — installation of street furniture, improvement of junctions and roads. These are likely to take off within the next six months, a senior BMC official said.

A civic official from G North ward said, “We have modelled our prototypes for the projects on initiatives taken up in other countries. In India, so far, we do not have an example of something taken up on such a large scale.”