BMC standing committee clears new six-storey House building near Azad Maidan

A modern six-storey House building will come up near Azad Maidan for the functioning of the Mumbai municipal corporation. The corporation's standing committee has approved the proposal unanimously. The building will cost about Rs 38 crore. The administration's aim is to complete construction in two to two-and-a-half years after work begins.

The building will be raised on the site of the old, dilapidated Krida Bhavan, which stands opposite the municipal headquarters, near the entrance to Azad Maidan. It is the first proposal since the standing committee was reconstituted that both the ruling side and the Opposition backed together.

The existing House does not have enough seating for corporators along with officials and journalists, which often causes problems. The Mumbai corporation currently has 227 elected corporators, with a provision for 10 nominated members, a total capacity of 237. The number of corporators could rise in future with changes in ward structure and a growing population. With this in mind, the new House has been designed for up to 330 corporators. According to Leader of the House Ganesh Khankar, the building will also have enough seating for visiting public representatives.

The building will come up on about 900 square metres, with different facilities on each floor. The ground floor will have parking for about 60 vehicles. The first and second floors will have podium-related facilities. The third floor will have a gymnasium for municipal employees. The fourth floor will house the offices of the Mayor, the Leader of the House and the Leader of the Opposition. The fifth and sixth floors will have a modern auditorium with theatre-style seating, along the lines of the state legislature. There will be a separate gallery for journalists, and modern technical facilities will be provided for conducting corporation meetings.

The Krida Bhavan building had become dilapidated. The administration had earlier prepared a proposal to build a town hall and gymkhana on the same site. That proposal came before the standing committee in March. Ruling members objected that the details were incomplete, and it was sent back to the administration.

The administration then revised the proposal and decided to build the corporation's new House building on the site. It has been stated that the contractor on the earlier proposal will be given the work on the revised project at the same contract amount. The project also takes into account the larger membership expected in future.