Maritime Board Reaches Out to the BMC for the Maintenance of Carter Road Promenade

The popular Carter Road promenade was maintained by the Bandra West Residents' Association (BWRA) for around 20 years. However, last month, the BWRA officially withdrew from the responsibilities saying that maintaining security in the promenade area had become unmanageable.

Consequently, the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) approached the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) asking them to handle the maintenance and security of the area. In addition to cleanliness and security of the promenade, the BWRA also handled events as well as advertising boards in the region. The revenue generated from these sources went towards the maintenance of the promenade. 

However, with no one left to take care of this iconic location, the MMB had to approach the BMC for its upkeep and security. The Maritime Board officials said that they will be posting tenders for 19 advertisement boards with the hope of generating revenue for the upkeep of the promenade. 

“For now, the tender will be given to an agency to take charge of all the boards and there will be an arrangement where they will share the revenue with MMB. Depending on the discussions with the BMC, we may have to appoint another agency for security and taking care of the events," a Maritime Boad official said.

The civic body, however, said that they have begun cleanup activities at the region. Assistant Municipal Commissioner of the H West ward Vinayak Vispute, said, "Given that Carter Road is an important open space in the city, the BMC has already started cleaning activities at the promenade a few days ago. The remaining terms and conditions will be decided soon."

MMB officials met with Deputy Municipal Commissioner Parag Masurkar on July 28 to discuss the handing over the promenade’s maintenance to BMC, while it also asked the civic body to hire security personnel for the area. It was said that the management of the expenses will be discussed at a later meeting. 

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An official from the H West ward said, “We will put up a proposal with the municipal commissioner, who will decide if the BMC should take over the promenade and maintain it, or share the responsibility. The matter will then be discussed by senior officials in the BMC and the MMB.” 

There’s a lot of uncertainty with regard to who will manage the promenade in the coming months. However, the BWRA has said that the residents are willing to help in some capacity given that they have taken care of the region for two decades.

President of BWRA, Patricia Nath said, "We do care about the space and we have voiced our concerns to the MMB numerous times. As a citizens' body, we would be prepared to oversee the operations if someone takes over since we have the experience of running the place.”