Malabar residents furious with BMC

For a change, it is the dilly-dallying attitude of the bureaucrats, and not the politicians, which has brought a project to standstill.

The ambitious Brand Malabar project has made little progress since its launch in 2007. The Malabar Hill residents, fed up with the attitude of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials, pledged in their annual general meeting to make a strong presentation to make the brand come alive.

Brand Malabar, which was to enhance the area’s character bringing it at par with internationally known brands like ‘Big Apple’ (New York), was planned in August 2007. However, the project hasn’t made any progress after the mayor and municipal commissioner inaugurated the amphitheater with much fanfare in April 2008.

Even on Sunday, the BMC officials did not turn up for the meeting. “Ever since additional municipal commissioner Manu Kumar Srivastava has left there has been little progress on the project,” said Malabar Hill Resident Association (MHRA) chairperson Anita Garware.

“The pace is very slow. It is not even a project where there is a need to relocate project affected people that usually results in delays. Ideally we should have been in the last phase by now but not even the first phase is completed,” said Salil Ranadive, architect of the project.

Additional municipal commissioner Anil Diggikar, the project in-charge said, “I have been here for one year but they met me only in June last year before a meeting this month. There was lack of communication and follow up on both sides. We will complete all work in another three to four months.”