Why has the list of heritage sites of Mumbai not been published?
4 May, 2012The internal correspondence of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) revealed in response to a RTI application has revealed that it has not published the list of 1089 heritage structures approved by the state urban development department since 2009 as it does not have the money to publish the same. For nearly 30 months, the file recommending 1089 sites to the heritage list of Mumbai has been lying dormant. The list is said to comprise nearly 150 pages and is likely to cost a few lakhs. Critics have pointed that out of the BMC has an annual budget of Rs. 2300 crores and such an excuse of lack of money indicates apathy. It has been suggested that the delay can give a time to individuals to those individuals whose structures figure in the list to make any changes them. It is also not understood why the list of the structures has not been put even on the BMC website which would hardly entail any expenditure.
The issue is likely to be debated hotly in the coming general body meeting of BMC.