Several Ganpati mandals oppose BMC deposit and fire safety fees

MUMBAI: Ganeshotsav organisers met with BMC, police, traffic and fire brigade officials on Wednesday to discuss arrangements for the upcoming festival from September 19 to 28. Deputy municipal commissioner (DMC) Ramakant Biradar, who is the civic Ganeshotsav coordinator, presided over the meeting.
Mandals primarily expressed concern over the deposit amount of Rs 1,000 levied upon them this year.Small roadside pandals would be hard-pressed to rustle up the deposit, they said. They also resent the fire brigade charges averaging Rs 1 lakh per day for two big mandals.
Naresh Dahibawkar, president, Brihanmumbai Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Samanvay Samiti, said, "There are two major issues. The first is that the BMC is going to charge a deposit of Rs 1,000 on all mandals that apply for pandal permission. This is the first time civic authorities are doing so. Secondly, they will levy a fire brigade charge upon two big mandals, namely GSB King's Circle and Lalbaugcha Raja. We made a request to not impose this charge as mandals have taken precautions to maintain fire safety."
He added, "The new deposit of Rs 1,000 for Ganesh pandals is not fair and proper. There is no specific justification for it. And the fire brigade charge is exorbitant. Both mandals as well as fire officials take proper precautions."
However, a senior BMC official countered, saying they have in fact reduced deposit charges this year. "The amount now stands at Rs 1,000 whereas last year it was around Rs 4,000. We are promoting eco-friendly Ganpati celebrations," he said. A fire brigade official said there were "no instructions" to impose any levy.
The two big mandals, Lalbaugcha Raja as well as GSB Seva Mandal, King's Circle, confirmed they are routinely charged to have a fire engine outside the premises. Both venues receive lakhs of devotees. Balasahab Kamble, president of Lalbaugcha Raja, said, "We always pay rental for the fire engine. And we apply for a fire permit in advance, in fact, we already did so 10 days ago. We follow all procedure and pay all the fees levied by BMC and other authorities." R G Bhat, vice-chairman of GSB Seva Mandal, said, "The BMC does advise us to have at least one fire engine stationed outside, and we do. Ours is a law-abiding mandal that complies with all rules. But the charges go up to Rs 1 lakh per day which we pay. But big or small, Ganeshotsav organisers are feeling the pinch nowadays. We raised the matter with them earlier too."