The construction of Coastal Road Project is underway, at Haji Ali, Worli, in Mumbai, February 1, 2023. (PTI)
Pollution control, better health system among others should be in BMC Budget: CM Shinde
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal (Administrator) to prioritise pollution control, strengthening of the health system, administration transparency, and city's beautification while making the municipal corporation's Budget. Shinde's direction came as BMC is to present the Budget of the richest corporation in the country Ssatruday.
Committed to providing clean air to the city, the CM said, "to control pollution and air quality in Mumbai, air purifier towers should be installed in the city like they are installed in Delhi, Gurgaon, and Lucknow." At the same time, Shinde said that measures will be taken to increase urban forestry.
The Guardian Minister for Mumbai suburban district and BJP leader Mangal Prabhat Lodha also stressed cleaner air quality in the city and assured that the air quality will improve within a month. "The air quality of Mumbai has worsened and we cannot sit idle without doing anything. Within a month you will notice an improvement in the air quality. We have conducted many meetings with the BMC regarding this issue," Lodha told reporters.
Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Ajit Pawar (Facebook)
The NCP should have asserted its right for the post of the chief minister way back in 2004, as it was then the single largest party, Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, Ajit Pawar, said on Friday.
During an interview to Marathi Lokmat News channel, Pawar said, “I am of the view that NCP made a mistake by letting the CM post go to its alliance partner Congress in 2004. If the CM was from our party, the scenario in Maharashtra would now have been very different.”
“The NCP had most number of elected representatives. Our seniors should have considered anyone for the CM’s post, such as R R Patil and Chhagan Bhujbal, or any other aspirant. It would have helped the organisation… Things would have been very different.”
In what could be a major breakthrough for the Mumbai Police investigating the murder of MBBS student Sadichcha Sane (22), the investigators have found dried splotches of blood on the floating tube recovered during panchnama from the residence of Mittu Singh, the prime accused in the case.
Singh, as per police, had allegedly used this tube to take Sane’s body further into the sea where he disposed it after her death on the night she went missing on November 29, 2021.
The police will now be taking samples from Sane’s family to compare it with the samples that have been recovered from the tube. If there is a match, it would act as strong evidence against Singh who is currently lodged at the Arthur Road prison.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray interacts with his son and Yuva Sena president Aaditya Thackeray during a programme in Mumbai. (ANI photo, file)
A day after Chief Minister Eknath Shinde directed the BMC to install air purifier towers in Mumbai to improve the air quality, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray on Friday claimed the move was an “absolute waste of public money” and an “eyewash”.
Taking to social media, Thackeray also alleged that the move was a “superficial response”. He proposed that the government should identify and tackle sources of air pollution by staggering work hours, and implementing pollution control rules.
Thackeray tweeted, “I read in the newspapers that the illegal CM’s response to pollution is an order to @mybmc to put up ‘air purifier towers’. As a former environment minister who worked on pollution mitigation, I can vouch that these towers are an absolute a waste of public money, at large.”
BMC municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal addresses the media after presenting the Civic Budget 2023-24, at BMC headquarters in Mumbai, February 04, 2023. (Express photo by Ganesh Shirsekar)
A day after Mumbai University postponed the winter session exams following a boycott by non-teaching staff, the university Saturday announced that the exams will now be conducted as per schedule.
In a circular, the University said, that the exams will begin on February 6, and “Exams which were scheduled on February 3 and 4 will be rescheduled and a new corrected timetable for those will be declared on the varsity's website".
A 25-year-old tutor has been arrested by the Mumbai police for allegedly sexually assaulting two students – a six-year-old boy and his four-year-old sister. According to police officials, the accused used to visit the house of the victims in the suburbs of Mumbai to teach them Arabic and Urdu languages. An officer said, “He would sexually assault them in the absence of their parents.” Read more
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) budget for 2023-24 was presented Saturday. Municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal in a statement said that for the first time in the history of the BMC, the budget has crossed the Rs 50,000-crore mark. The 10 key points of the budget are:
1) A total of 14 smog towers will be installed across seven zones in Mumbai (two in each zone). The height of each tower will be roughly 30 ft and will occupy an area of 2ft by 2ft. The towers control air quality through radio waves and through electromagnetic action. Read more
The Mumbai police had to resort to mild lathi charge during the recruitment drive of the fire brigade after a group of female aspirants staged a protest outside fire brigade’s office in Dahisar over disqualification. According to the fire brigade officials, the women aspirants were called for the recruitment process at 8 am.
Chief Officer Sanjay Manjrekar of Mumbai fire brigade said, “Several aspirants who fit the height criteria and had come on time during the recruitment process were allowed to participate. While those who came late after 10 am on Saturday morning were not allowed.” Read more
In a detailed order granting bail to former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh’s private assistant Kundan Shinde, a special CBI court has taken into consideration that other co-accused have been granted bail by the Bombay High Court.
Shinde, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in 2021 and the CBI in 2022 in connection with bribes collected by dismissed police officer Sachin Waze from bar owners and other establishments allegedly at the behest of Deshmukh, was granted bail this week in both cases. He was released from jail on Friday. Read more
A clash erupted between the Mumbai Police and women candidates appearing for the fire brigade recruitment exam in the city, after they were allegedly sent back, news agency ANI reported.
Mumbai Fire Brigade's Chief Officer said, "3318 women candidates, who were qualified as per height criteria were chosen for further selection process. Protesting women are those who came late. We can’t allow people who reached around 10 am when time was 8 am: Chief Officer, Mumbai Fire Brigade"
Welcoming the civic budget for 2023-24, BJP Mumbai unit president Ashish Shelar Saturday said: “The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) budget for 2023-24 has been tailored keeping in mind the welfare of Mumbaikars. Unlike in the past when the budget was made to help contractors and agents.” “For the past 25 years, the BMC budget has always been of, by, and for the contractors… But now, things have changed. This year, the BMC has proposed its annual budget based on the demands and expectations of Mumbaikars,” he added.
“With Mumbai’s air pollution crossing the danger limit and its AQI dipping from ‘poor’ to ‘very poor’, I had asked Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to intervene and, accordingly, the BMC commissioner has been instructed to look into the matter…” Shelar said. Read more
Civic schools offering skill development training will be renamed as ‘Mumbai Public School and Skill Centre’. The idea is to provide skill training to students making them more employable, said the civic body. A skill centre will be set up at the Jagannath Shankarseth School in Nana Chowk to monitor all such schools.
“These are not regular trades like welding but other relevant courses, such as Artificial Intelligence, coding, robotics, tourism and hospitality, among others. Students will be able to pursue the courses of their choice along with the regular school curriculum… with these additional skills it will be easier for them to get jobs later in life,” said BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal. Read more
A day after a photojournalist was gangraped in the abandoned Shakti Mills on August 22, 2013, the Mumbai Police had detained a minor boy with the help of his teen friend, who identified the boy’s sketch drawn on the basis of the description given by the victim’s colleague. The minor boy went on to provide the police names and addresses of his four adult accomplices, who were arrested within three days.
The photojournalist had narrated her ordeal to her colleague, who had accompanied her for a photoshoot in the Shakti Mills premises. After she was taken to Jaslok hospital, N M Joshi Marg police was informed, which registered a case based on her statement. The Bombay High Court, while commuting the death sentence given to the three men to life imprisonment on November 25, 2021, had noted that sketches drawn by artists Nitin Yadav and Mohmmad Siddiq Shaikh were shown to “secret informants” (whose names are not disclosed by police), including a 13-year-old boy, who identified the minor boy. Read more
While addressing the media after presenting the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) Budget for the year 2023-24, municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal said: "In FY 2023-24, the works on Versova-Dahisar extension of the coastal road will be taken up in war footing. Tenders for the Dahisar and Mira-Bhayander were floated last year. The primary objective is to connect Nariman Point and Marine Drive with Mira Bhayander. The entire coastal road project will be a reality in the next five years with the first phase set to be completed by end of this year."
The BJP has announced the names of two candidates for the upcoming Assembly bypolls. While Ashwini Jagtap, wife of late MLA Laxman Jagtap, will be the party candidate from Chinchwad, Pune municipal corporation's standing committee chairman Hemant Rasane will contest from Kasba Peth Assembly seat.
The BMC has proposed to set up two air purifier towers each in all seven municipal zones of Mumbai. Alongside this, five air purifier machines will be installed in five congestion points in the city. The towers will have the capacity to mitigate dust pollution by 45 per cent and will be effective for a 1 km radius. Each tower will cost Rs 3.5 crore.
"BMC will issue guidelines to the real estate sector to curb dust pollution in Mumbai and to ensure that dust components are mitigated at the sites. We will discipline our real estate sector in dust management," Chahal said while addressing the media.
"The CM and DCM insisted on making an action plan for mitigating air pollution. We have 3 goals... The first is to control pollutant emissions caused by roads and construction activities, industrial and power sectors, refineries and waste burning. The second point is to introduce a multi-level monitoring committee that will oversee the work. And third agenda is to achieve a decentralised approach which will involve curbing the population at the ward level and shouldn't be dependent on MPCB alone. Real estate works are the main cause of air pollution. More than 3,500 real estate construction projects are ongoing in Mumbai since 2020," municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal said elaborating on the Mumbai Air Pollution Action Plan.
Top allocations (total of cap and revenue)
? Coastal Road: Rs 3,553.26 crore
? Mumbai Sewerage Disposal project: Rs 3,591.86 crore
? Solid Waste Management department: Rs 4,710.25 crore
? Storm Water Drains Department: Rs 3,266.15 crore
? DP Department: Rs 1,320.20 crore
? Roads and Traffic: Rs 3,630.71 crore
? Bridges: Rs 3,179.81 crore
? Fire brigade: Rs 666.27 crore
? Garden and zoo: Rs 712.93 crore
Post pandemic, in the academic year 2022-23, BMC identified 316 children of migrant labourers and enrolled them into mainstream schools under the Right To Education Act, 2009, providing free and compulsory education for children. The civic body has made a budgetary provision of Rs10 lakh this for the same.
"Approximately 990 km of roads have been concretised in Mumbai till January end and we have already given a work order for concretising 397 km of roads. In the next 3 years, BMC will concretise 100% of the existing roads in Mumbai." municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal said.
"The BMC this year has introduced a pedestrian first policy, under which any road which is more than 9-metre width will have footpath on both sides. The BMC has identified the roads through a survey and construction works will commence from April onwards," he added.
46 chronic water-logging spots will remain in the ensuing Monsoon season. Of these, 36 are inside the government or private properties, the BMC said.
Of the total 386 spots identified, 306 are tackled already, and 34 will be tackled before monsoon 2023. This leaves 46 spots.
Of which:
? 6 will be tackled after monsoon 2023
? 4 spots work in the planning stage
? 36 in private or government property
"Health, education, environment, and transparency -- these are the four pillars of our budget," said municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal during a press conference after the Budget presentation.
"BMC has received 965 suggestions and objections from citizens giving inputs for the Budget.. Based on these suggestions, many points were included in the overall outlay of the Budget," he added.
With the Budgetary provision of Rs 10 lakh, e-Libraries, which will be a set of four computers with internet facilities, will be set up in 50 primary schools under BMC in the year 2023-24. It started with 25 BMC schools in the year 2022-23.
The BMC will dip into its reserves to meet its high Budget outlay. Rs 18,746.09 crore will be withdrawn.
Of this:
? Rs 7,400 crore will be taken for GMLR, Coastal Road, and STP.
? Rs 5,376.09 crore for other cap/revenue expenditure
? Rs 5,970 crore as an internal temporary transfer
The BMC has Rs 88,304.05 in reserves as of December 31, 2022.
Of this:
? Rs 51,147.36 crore are linked to infrastructure projects
? Rs 37,156.69 crore tied toward liabilities such as Provident Fund, Pension Fund, and gratuity. (Rs 16,902.21 crore are contractor and other party deposits)
With capital receipts of Rs 582.95 crore, net withdrawal of BMC from reserves is Rs 18,164.09 crore.
One lakh trees will be planted through ecologically sustainable planting practices, along Mithi, Mahakali caves, Swami Vivekananda Udyan, and Bharat Van Udyan in Marol. This is an urban greening project as part of measures to tackle pollution.
The BMC had earlier announced its plan to build 35 well-equipped sports centres. Among them, 10 centres have been established in the year 2022-23. The remaining sports centres will be established in 2023-24 and 2024-25.
Budget Provision (Primary): - 40 Lakh
Budget Provision (Secondary): - 35 Lakh
In order to impart knowledge of astronomical developments and to inculcate and increase the curious attitude of BMC school students, the process of installing a total of 54 astronomical laboratories with the necessary equipment will be completed in the year 2023-24, which will also help develop skills like observation, concentration and comprehension in the students, thereby increasing their scientific attitude. A budgetary provision of Rs 60 lakh has been made for the same.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has allotted Rs 800 crore to BEST. In 2022-23, BEST got a total of Rs 1,382.28 crore.
Of the total Rs 52,619.07 crore, capex is pegged at 52 per cent with an allocation of Rs 27,247.08 crore, whereas revenue expenditure is at 48 per cent (Rs 25,305.94 crore). For the first time in five years, capex has exceeded revenue expenditure. Meanwhile, the overall Budget size doubled in five years.
In 2017-18 total expenditure was Rs 20,036.64 crore, when the ratio of capital to revenue expenditure was 25:75.
The Budget estimates for the education sector are proposed at Rs 3,347.13 crore. While Rs 3,370.24 crore was earmarked during the 2022-23 Budget, the revised estimates for the previous FY were at Rs 3,181.48 crore.
In line with the efforts of the Maharashtra government, an initiative to establish Maths and Science centres is proposed on a pilot basis in 88 primary schools for the year 2023-24. The objective of this initiative is to enhance the educational quality and to develop observation, concentration and comprehensive skills, attentiveness and scientific approach of the students of BMC Primary Schools. These innovative science centres will mainly include small format games like Newton's disk, centrifugal force, electric current, geometric figures, Mathematics: area measurement, sum of measures of triangles and squares, midpoint and other experiments etc.
In the Budget, the BMC also earmarked a Rs 250 crore fund for various social impact initiatives. The overall fund has been allocated under various headers which include financial schemes for women, the differently-abled, transpersons, senior citizens and a women's training scheme.
With an aim to create interactive classrooms, BMC plans 'talking walls' in schools with paintings and art based on class-wise curriculum content. The proposal for the creation of 'talking walls' in 245 BMC primary schools for the year 2023-24 is in process. The survey process is going on by the M&E department.
After a successful pilot project of providing leadership training to total of 120 civic school principals in association with the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management, the BMC is set to extend it for another academic year for the effective administration of schools.
The BMC, in its Budget 2023-24, has allotted Rs 227.07 crore to the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB), which is approximately 30 per cent less than what was allotted last year. This year, the MFB aims towards purchasing firefighting drones along with 22 quick response vehicles and a disaster recovery deployment kit as well.
Under the new National Education Policy-2020, students from selected BMC schools will be given Skill Development Training in their field of interest.
Selected secondary schools of BMC will have the following syllabus courses from June 2023 -- Electronics, Hotel Management, Apparel, Fashion Designing, Food service, Health and hygiene, Automobile, Tourism and Hospitality. A budgetary allocation of Rs 28.45 crore has been made for the same.
While the BMC has proposed a revenue income of ?33,290.03 crore this year, its main sources of revenue this year are:
? ?12,344.10 crore: Grant-in-aid on account of compensation in lieu of Octroi
? ?6,000 crore: Income from Property tax
? ?4,400 crore: Income from DP Department
? ?1,707.24 crore: Income from interest on investments
? ?1,965.64 crore: Income from Water & Sewerage Charges
The BMC, in its Budget for FY 2023-24, has announced a digital classroom programme under which a systematic database of education curriculum will be created and classes and curricular activities will be carried out through LED smart boards.
It is pertinent to note that last year, the BMC had announced a 'Virtual Classroom' programme in its Budget with similar agenda. This project was backed by former cabinet minister Aaditya Thackeray. However, the previous project was scrapped in the middle of the year and it appears that a similar proposal has been tabled by just changing the name.
The BMC has earmarked Rs 25 crore for mitigating air pollution and sustainable waste management measures for FY 2023-24.
While the actual income received till December 31, 2022, was ?18,769.28 crore, the estimated revenue income for 2023-24 is proposed at ?33,290.03 crore, which is ?2,546.42 crore more than the estimates of 2022-23.
The BMC, in its Budget 2023-24, has announced the 'Mumbai Clean Air Initiative' that will work towards three broad goals -- curb pollution concentration, initiate a multi-level monitoring strategy for the city and decentralise planning and community health awareness to reduce personal exposure.
The civic body has planned to instal air purifiers in five most-crowded areas in the city -- Dahisar Toll Naka, Mulund Check Naka, Mankhurd, Kalanagar Junction and Haji Ali Junction.
Municipal commissioner and state-appointed administrator Iqbal Singh Chahal Saturday tabled Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) annual Budget for the FY 2023-24. The Budget Estimates for the financial year 2023-24 are proposed at ?52,619.07 crore which exceeds the Budget estimates for 2022-23 (?4,5949.21 crore) by 14.52%.
The Budget estimates of revenue income for the financial year 2022-23 were proposed to be ?30,743.61 crore which was revised to ?28,887.63 crore, a fall of ?1,855.98 crore.
Continuing his attack on Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) leader and former MP Kirit Somaiya said that he will lodge a formal police complaint later in the day on Saturday against its Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) public utility, and also against private firms and contractors associated with the civic body.
Kirit Somaiya in a tweet on Saturday said, "COVID ki Kamai. Today 3:30 pm I along with 100 Workers/Drivers will file Complaint at Colaba Police Station against BEST, Kish Corporate Services of Kishori Pednekar and MP Enterprises for cheating fraud Forgery and robing employees of salaries, provident fund." Somaiya earlier on Wednesday announced that he will expose "one more scam of the civic body".
"COVID ki KAMAI" Exposing One more scam of BMC today. 2.30 pm today, I will be meeting Labour Minister Suresh Khade at Mantralaya Mumbai to submit a detailed complaint," the BJP leader added.
A massive fire broke out at the dumping ground in Turbhe in Navi Mumbai on Friday evening. The flames were finally doused after 7.30 hours of efforts, an official of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) fire brigade said, news agency PTI reported.
"The fire broke out at 7.30 pm. Seven fire tenders are at the spot. The fire is under control now and no casualties have been reported. The reason of fire is not yet known," news agency ANI quoted Anil Chavan, an officer of Turbhe police station, as saying.
At least 10 fire engines were deployed to douse the flames, he said. Nobody was injured in the fire, the PTI report stated.
Lung cancer deaths rose by nearly 49 per cent in Mumbai between 2009 and 2021. The jump is significant and doctors cite carcinogenic risk due to long exposure to air pollution especially PM2.5, tobacco consumption and improved death certification procedures behind the sharp increase in lung cancer deaths.
In 2009, 621 people died from lung cancer in Mumbai, a figure that has gradually risen over the years. In 2021, there were 923 lung cancer deaths in the city, a 48.6 per cent jump in the 12-year period.
While 683 people died from lung cancer in 2010, there were 724 deaths in 2012, 904 (2015), 964 (2016) and 942 (2017). The year 2018 recorded the highest number of cases at 1,006 in the 12-year period. In 2020, the first year of Covid-19, however, deaths from lung cancer in Mumbai fell to 802. Read more
A major fire broke out at a scrap godown in Bhiwandi town of Maharashtra's Thane district in the early hours of Saturday, but nobody was injured in the incident, a civic official said. The blaze erupted at the godown located in Fatima Nagar area around 4 am, he said.
"After being alerted, four fire engines were rushed to the spot and a firefighting operation was launched. It took around four hours for the fire brigade personnel to bring the blaze under control," he said, adding that the cause of the fire is being ascertained.
Meanwhile, the fire that had broken out at the dumping yard at Turbhe in Navi Mumbai around 7 pm on Friday was finally doused after 7.30 hours of efforts, an official of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) fire brigade said. At least 10 fire engines were deployed to douse the flames, he said. Nobody was injured in the fire, the official said. (PTI)
Ahead of the tabling of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) annual Budget, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA and former minister Aaditya Thackeray Thursday shot off a letter to municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal.
Mentioning that he was writing the letter in the wake of the civic body inviting suggestions and objections from the people, the legislator said: "My simple suggestion as a Mumbaikar to the BMC would be, for the Budget, the administrator must go ahead with the establishment budget and funding the ongoing projects, but no new project can/must be taken up in absence of Mumbai's elected representatives- Corporators, Mayor and Heads of Committees."
Welcome to our Live Blog. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) annual Budget will be tabled on Saturday at 10.30 am.
The Budget is likely to focus mainly on the infrastructure development of Mumbai, in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s January 19 speech in Mumbai, where he expressed the need for pushing the infrastructure of the maximum city under a ‘triple engine’ government.
Stay tuned as we bring you the latest news updates from your city.