Employees of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) have been instructed to dedicate one hour every day to deal with applications made by Ganesh mandals seeking various permissions ahead of Ganeshotsav. Officials have been asked to clear applications within the stipulated time, and provide a reason if the application is rejected.
Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta issued these instructions to ward office staff during his monthly review meeting on Saturday. This would ensure that the staff do not miss the seven-day deadline to clear applications, and that organisers’ queries about the online process are resolved.
The Bombay High Court had directed the BMC to streamline the process of issuing clearances for Ganesh pandals. One of the directives was to ensure all permissions are given online, which the BMC has started from this year.
Other instructions issued by the civic chief to the staff include ensuring that pandals are not put up without permission, making sure organisers have taken fire safety measures in pandals, coordinating with Metro rail authorities for smooth arrival and immersion of Ganesh idols, making arrangements for foreign tourists at immersion locations, and coordinating with the police.