The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has temporarily stopped work on 35 LED hoardings at Carter Road promenade following strong opposition from Bandra residents. However, permission for the project has not been withdrawn
The area occupied by the Carter Road promenade in 2005, before Bandra residents got the stretch developed with funds from local legislators. Pic/By Special Arrangement
Facing opposition from Bandra residents, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Thursday temporarily stopped construction and excavation work for the erection of 35 LED hoardings along the Carter Road promenade. However, permission for setting up the billboards has not yet been withdrawn. On Tuesday, locals, led by Congress leader and former corporator Asif Zakaria, wrote to the civic body, objecting to the project. Zakaria warned the BMC that the residents would strongly object if the work were continued.
Residents, who believe that such an endeavour would set a dangerous precedent of commercially exploiting public waterfronts and compromise the serenity of the public open space, have planned a peaceful gathering at the promenade at 5 pm on Saturday, inviting environmentalists, nature lovers, and citizens.
Visitors relax on the Carter Road promenade in Bandra West at dusk on April 21, 2025. PIC/SATEJ SHINDE
A member of IMPACT (Citizens Movement for Environment and Civic Action), a group formed by the residents to present a united front to speak up about the issues of the area, said, “There is a misalignment in the way BMC and residents look at development. Probably for the former, it’s about revenue and construction, and for the latter, it’s about maintaining the serenity of a public open space. For so many years, this area has facilitated the community coming together to enjoy the city. Now it is being rampantly commercialised with construction.”
Facts of the matter
1 The promenade was developed in the late 1990s and early 2000s by citizens of Bandra and the Bandra Welfare Residents Association (through funds from local MPs Shabana Azmi and Priya Dutt
2 The land in question is owned by the Mumbai Maritime Board (MMB)
3 BMC offers maintenance such as sanitation and garbage collection services, and waters the plants
Official Speak
‘Permission to prop hoardings on the promenade was given by MMB, as it owns the land. BMC’s licence department gave requisite permission for ads. For now, we have told the contractor to stop the work, respecting the sentiments of residents. But, power to cancel the nod to erect hoardings lies entirely with the MMB’
Dinesh Pallewad, assistant commissioner, H West ward
Recent developments
>> A steel pillar near the Khar police station has been removed
>> Hoarding-related work has been paused
>> However, pits dug for the erection of 8x5-foot display boards haven’t been filled
‘Locals and visitors don’t stand to benefit!’
According to Renuka Tahiliani, a resident of Carter Road, the earlier promenade extended from Otters Club [near Jogger’s Park] to Cafe Coffee Day. “When I moved to Carter Road in 2005, the rest of the stretch now occupied by the promenade was a garbage dump and had huts. I contacted the ALMs of the area and approached our MP to develop the rest of the promenade. Since then, the residents took care of the promenade until the pandemic, when it was decided that the BMC should maintain it. In hindsight, that was a wrong decision. At the end of the promenade is a gazebo meant for people to sit in a shaded place. Now a temple is being built there,” she said.
Sharan A Kothari, an architect and resident of Carter Road, noted that no seafront in the city had been commercialised. “Marine Drive and Bandstand are recreational community spaces. Yet, the authorities insist on commercialising the Carter Road promenade. The hoardings will be an eyesore. Who benefits from them except the ones taking a share of the revenue generated through advertisements?”
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