3 min readMumbaiFeb 13, 2026 09:50 PM IST
First published on: Feb 13, 2026 at 09:50 PM IST
On Friday afternoon, a delegation of party leaders led by Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde inspected the civic body’s corporation hall to review the seating arrangements for elected representatives. The Mayor was accompanied by Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani and senior officials from the maintenance department during the visit.
The inspection comes two days after 26 elected representatives from opposition parties were left without seats during the proceedings to elect Mumbai’s 78th Mayor. Opposition leaders had subsequently demanded that the seating capacity inside the hall be increased in line with the present strength of the House.
In a report published on February 13, The Indian Express noted that the number of seats for corporators inside the municipal hall has not increased since 1893, when the total strength of corporators stood at just 64.
At present, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC has 227 elected corporators. In addition, 10 nominated corporators are set to be inducted next month, taking the total strength to 237. These members regularly attend general body meetings, including the annual budget presentation and discussions on key civic resolutions.
“We will relook into the existing layout of the seating arrangement and necessary additions and reorganisation of seats will be carried out to accommodate all the 237 elected representatives,” Gagrani told The Indian Express after the inspection.
Kishori Pednekar, senior leader from the Shiv Sena UBT and Leader of Opposition in the BMC, said the current seating layout is both inadequate and uncomfortable.
“The current seating arrangement is such that corporators with leg or thigh pain will face problems while working for a long period of time. In order to work for long durations, we need comfortable space with sufficient leg room. We have therefore asked the Mayor along with the maintenance, MS and other departments to find a solution to this problem,” Pednekar said following the inspection.
“As the opposition, we will continue to occupy the left side of the seating but they must provide us with a proper bifurcation,” she added.
The corporation hall has evolved alongside the city’s expanding civic limits. At its inception, the municipal corporation had only 64 elected councillors as the city limits did not extend between Sewri and Mahim and voting rights were restricted to a limited number of tax paying citizens. The strength increased to 140 in 1963 after the suburbs were merged with the island city, expanding the corporation’s jurisdiction. It was further raised to 170 in 1982 and to 227 in 2002 following fresh delimitation.
Architecturally, the rectangular hall draws inspiration from the town halls of Glasgow and Birmingham. Its ceiling features moulded panels of Burma Teak wood finished with gold leaf, while the flooring is laid with Minton tiles. Three colonial era chandeliers hang from the roof, and several busts representing Mumbai’s communities line the hall, each engraved with the initials CB for Corporation of Bombay.
The Indian Express noted that the number of seats for corporators inside the municipal hall has not increased since 1893 
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