Shinde makes 15 announcements, Shelar takes up 29 projects as leaders go on project launch spree before MCC comes into force

Setting the stage for a high-stakes electoral fight, State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare on Monday announced the dates for polling across 29 municipal corporations, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). While the corporations are gearing up for polls on January 15, the counting of votes is slated for January 16. With the announcement of the long-awaited local body elections, the Model Code of Conduct came into force after 4pm on Monday, which bars launch and announcement of new policies and projects.

In the run-up to the announcement, a spate of infrastructure projects—small and big—were launched while big-ticket projects received clearances as politicos raced to project sites to perform bhoomipujan or inauguration ceremonies.

In a meeting convened with BMC chief Bhushan Gagrani, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday afternoon took stock of the 295-acre Central Park, which will encompass the Mahalaxmi Racecourse and the open spaces of Coastal Road. As per the proposal submitted by the architect, Hafeez Contractor, the Central park has been envisaged as an open space for the city, which will encompass a world-class sports complex underneath the land parcel. During the course of reviewing the draft proposal, Shinde said that the territory of Central Park will be developed as a full-fledged park with no concrete development, barring the sidewalk works.

While for Mumbai, Shinde announced plans for the Central Park alongside completion dates for several ambitious projects like road concretisation and sewage treatment plants, he also announced 12 projects for Thane that include a viewing tower, snow park and amusement park anong others.

Meanwhile, Mumbai Suburban Guardian minister Ashish Shelar performed ground-breaking ceremony on an array of improvement works across the city. Shelar kicked off his day by laying the foundation stone for a new building complex near Rajawadi hospital in Ghatkopar and later laid the foundation stone for a crucial ramp linking Western Expressway with the Bandra Worli Sea Link.

In Bandra, Shelar announced a rejuvenation project to revive the Swami Vivekanand Lake in Bandra west while also performing bhoomipujan for many development works, such as improvement of drainage, passageways and markets in Khar Danda as well as Gazdarbandh areas. Besides the infrastructure projects, Shelar also inaugurated the BMC’s ‘Health Chatbot’ service, which seeks to offer transparency in procurement of health services.

Further in the suburbs, the crucial bridge over Oshiwara river along the SV road was opened for vehicular traffic after BJP MLA from Goregaon Vidya Thakur inaugurated the bridge in a flag-off ceremony. In the island city, Congress’s Mumbadevi MLA Amin Patel inaugurated the concrete road works at the Ibrahim Rehmatullah road in Bhuleshwar — a project executed by the BMC at a cost of Rs. 4.5 crores.

The flurry of ground-breaking ceremonies on Monday came along the heels of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy CM Shinde and Mulund MLA Mihir Kotecha laying the foundation stone for the proposed Exotic Bird Park in Nahur on Sunday.