Boost to Sena’s pet projects, Rs 5 cr for racecourse park

Among the various mentions on the list, a total of Rs 6 crore has been allotted for the Shahaji Raje Sports Complex in Andheri, for the gate, solar lighting and other works.

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The Balasaheb Thackeray memorial, which had not been discussed when the budget was being announced by civic chief Ajoy Mehta, has been allocated an additional Rs 90 lakh. The memorial is supposed to be built in the mayor’s bungalow in Shivaji Park and was allocated Rs 1 crore when the budget was announced.

Leader of the house and Shiv Sena corporator Trushna Vishwasrao said, “The increase in the allocation for the Balasaheb Thackeray memorial is the token amount that was allotted for the memorial last year. The theme park in the Mahalaxmi racecourse is also important, since the city needs a tourist attraction that will appeal to people visiting the city,” she said.

Reacting to the long list of amendments, Manoj Kotak, BJP group leader, said that many of the projects, including Dabbewala Bhawan and Mathadi Bhavan, which have received allocation of Rs 2 crore each, are repeated every year.

“How many of those projects have been completed? Many projects are printed in the budget, but show no sign of completion. We, however, will fulfill all the promises we have made,” he said.

The budget of Rs 37,052 crore has been increased by Rs 500 crore, of which the allocation for BEST has been increased by Rs 100 crore and the rest is for the BMC. Officials from the finance department said that some allocations have been removed and the grants approved in the standing committee added in their place.

The amendments passed by members of the standing committee will now be discussed in the general body meeting.

arita.sarkar@expressindia.com