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Mumbai: Coastal Road To Be Hoardings Free Only On Reclaimed Land, Traffic NOC Mandatory, Says BMC’s Draft Policy 2024

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Mumbai: Coastal Road To Be Hoardings Free Only On Reclaimed Land, Traffic NOC Mandatory, Says BMC's Draft Policy 2024

Mumbaikars demand for hoarding free coastal road has been only partially fulfilled by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) as under the new draft policy, hoardings have been prohibited only within the reclaimed lands for the coastal road. Hence, the commuters are likely to see the hoardings coming up on the non-reclaimed land (open spaces) along the coastal road.

The BMC recently had approved six hoardings in the open spaces along the coastal road in south Mumbai- four in Tata Garden and two in Haji Ali. The contractor will be able to erect the hoardings once the Maharashtra Coastal Regulatory Management Authority gives a final nod. These open spaces fall under the Coastal Regulatory Zone.

What authorities says?

Deputy Municipal Commissioner (Special) Kiran Dighavkar said, “No hoardings are allowed within the reclaimed lands of the coastal road.” He added that the hoardings approved in the Tata Garden and Haji Ali fall beyond the reclaimed lands for coastal road.

Under Draft Policy Guidelines for Display of Outdoor Advertisements 2024 released on Friday, the BMC has permitted erecting hoardings on the Coastal Regulatory Zone with ‘No Objection Certificate’ (NOC) by the Maharashtra Coastal Regulatory Management Authority.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and MLA from Worli had demanded that BMC should follow the ‘hoardings free coastal road’ and stressed that the hoardings could cause accidents. The residents of south Mumbai also started online petition to oppose hoardings along southern arm of the coastal road.

What is the new hoarding policy?

The draft policy also mentions that the earlier system of different sizes for different zones was without any rationale, and the advertisers are allowed to put any size of hoardings (as per policy) anywhere under BMC jurisdiction. The city will have hoardings size of maximum 40ft x 40ft and maximum 100 ft tall.

The draft policy for erecting hoardings also comes with amended process of permissions, including mandatory NOC from Traffic police department. The draft policy also adds the areas prohibited for erecting hoardings, like erecting hoardings on building terrace, traffic island, bridge gantries among others.

As per the draft policy, all the government authorities (like Railways, MHADA, MMRDA etc) now have to strictly follow BMC guidelines for erecting hoardings. BMC spokesperson Tanaji Kamble said that these guidelines existed earlier too, however the government agencies did not abide to the BMC guidelines. After the supreme court’s recent order all agencies need to follow guidelines set by the BMC.

The draft policy comes three months after the fatal Ghatkopar hoarding collapse incident, which killed 17 people and injured over 70.

Maharashtra

We will take initiative on the problems of Mumbai University – Ambadas Danve

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Mumbai: Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Ambadas Danve said that the government will take initiative regarding the vacant posts of teachers in Mumbai University, enrollment of colleges, and pending development works by MMRDA. Today he visited the Kalina campus and took stock of the problems and current situation of the students.

Delay in development works of the university

An agreement was signed between Mumbai University and MMRDA for the beautification of the Kalina campus and construction of buildings for educational purposes. But this work has not been done till now and concerns were raised about the completion of these works.

Issue of safety of students

Every day five to six thousand students visit the Kalina campus, but incidents of attacks on female students are increasing due to outside elements. Also, the Bit Chowki near the main entrance was demolished in the name of widening the road, which increased the threat to the safety of girl students, this issue was raised by Senate member Sheetal Devrukhkar-Sheth.

Issue of cancellation of teacher recruitment

Instead of improving the quality of education, the decision to cancel the teacher recruitment is proving to be harmful for the students, Senate member Milind Satam reported.

Challenge to the international recognition of the university

Despite getting international recognition, the students are facing problems due to the problems of Mumbai University, which is unfortunate, said Ambadas Danve. Students from all over the country and abroad come here to study, so it is important to solve these problems, he said.

Vice Chancellor Dr. Ravindra Kulkarni, Pro-Vice Chancellor Dr. Ajay Bhamare, local MLA Vilas Potnis, Senate members Sheetal Devrukhkar-Sheth, Milind Satam, Kisan Sawant, Param Yadav and other dignitaries were present in this meeting.

Danve resolved to raise voice with the government on the problems of the university and play an active role in the interest of the students.

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Maharashtra

‘Water Grid’ project for Marathwada: Gulabrao Patil

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Mumbai: The ‘Marathwada Water Grid’ scheme is being implemented to permanently solve the water shortage in Marathwada and ensure robust water supply. Under this project, 11 major dams of Marathwada will be connected through pipelines and drinking water will be provided to cities and villages across the region. Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Gulabrao Patil gave information about the project and said that this project will provide sustainable water supply to Marathwada.

The cooperation of global level banks will be taken to implement this scheme, Patil said. A review meeting was held with representatives of global banks in the ministry regarding this project. Many important officials including Principal Secretary of Water Supply and Sanitation Department Sanjay Khandare, Member Secretary of Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran Abhishek Krishna, Chief Executive Officer of ‘Mitra’ Praveensinh Pardeshi, Director of Jal Jeevan Mission Abhiyan E Ravindran, and Secretary of Water Resources Department Sanjay Belsare were present in this meeting.

Long-term water supply to Marathwada will be ensured through this project. Along with this, as per the advice of the central government, the project will be set up and implemented by taking loans from the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and New Development Bank. The implementation of the project will be coordinated by the ‘Mitra’ institution, as told by Minister Gulabrao Patil.

The ‘Mitra’ institution has taken the initiative to discuss the project further and coordinate with the concerned banks. Patil expressed confidence that the project will significantly help in solving the water problem of Marathwada.

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Maharashtra

The state government is preparing to bring private kindergartens under its control

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Mumbai: The lack of educational facilities, midday meals for children, and proper implementation of government schemes in private schools running in the streets of the state has increased the concern of parents. As a measure against this, the School Education Department has started preparing a new manual to bring private schools under government control.

According to the new National Education Policy, pre-primary education for children between 3 and 6 years of age has been considered important, and it is proposed to include private schools in this policy as well. Currently, many schools running in the streets are running without any manual and are out of the control of the local administration. It has been assured that a suitable educational environment will be created for the children under this new rule of the Education Department.

Under the new regulations, educational curriculum for children will be implemented in the balwadis, along with midday meals and appropriate schemes for the physical and mental development of children. This is expected to provide quality education to the children.

It has not yet been decided which department will control these balwadis – the School Education Department, the Women and Child Welfare Department, and the Integrated Child Development Services Department. However, it is believed that this decision will reduce the anxiety of parents and improve the educational quality of children.

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