5 days ago
Khar H-West ward office to get 9.5cr central AC
Mumbai: Barely four years after it was inaugurated, the H-West ward office in Khar is slated for a fully centralised air-conditioning, with ceiling unit boxes already stacked on the premises.
The upgrade at a cost Rs 9.5 crore could push electricity bills to Rs 2 lakh a month at the office. A civic official confirmed the proposal was tabled by the local ward office itself, claiming that there was a ventilation issue.
It may be recalled that the H-West ward office was based out of municipal premises on St Martin Road, behind Bandra police station in Bandra West. In May 2021, during the pandemic, the ward office started operating from the new location in Khar, with an official inauguration taking place in Aug 2021 by the then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray.
After this, the old office in Bandra was converted into a vaccination centre.
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Former Bandra corporator Asif Zakaria slammed the move on X, calling it poor planning and pointing to ongoing potholes, flooding, water shortages, and garbage woes in Bandra, Khar, and Santacruz West. He said poor planning left the building with poor ventilation. "Hopefully, this cool comfort for officials will somehow bring a warmer, better experience for the common Mumbaikar," he said, adding while every staff member in H-West will sit in AC, in other wards the staff will not get the same treatment.
"Why this kind of cherry-picking? This should have been factored in when the building was being constructed, only if at all they wanted to do it," said Zakaria.
The H-West ward office had AC cabins for the assistant municipal commissioner and deputy municipal commissioner, while clerical staff had non-AC offices. Assistant municipal commissioner of H-West ward, Dinesh Pallewad, said the work is being done with all sanctions in place.
"Sanctions from the central purchase department (CPD) and mechanical and electrical department (M&E) have been obtained," he said. It may be noted other administrative ward offices in the city and suburbs don't have such centralised AC.
Former BJP corporator from the ward, Swapna Mhatre, said there should be no problem with the centralised AC. "Today, every corporate office has similar centralised AC, so why shouldn't civic staff working for the public be allowed to operate in air-conditioned offices?" said Mhatre.
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