A nine-feet-tall statue of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray will finally be installed near Regal cinema, if all goes to plan. The BMC's general body, led by Shiv Sena, on Tuesday gave permission for the installation of the statue in south Mumbai.

Civic sources said the statue is almost complete, but won't be installed on Thursday, January 23 (Thackeray's birth anniversary), as planned because approvals of various other departments, including the Mumbai Heritage Committee, the state government and the city collector, are pending.