Haunted tag for mayor’s MBMC bungalow

For any civic body, the official residence of its first citizen (Mayor) is considered to be a prestigious tag for the city’s landmark. However, in Mira Bhayandar, the Mayor’s bungalow not only paints a sorry picture of civic apathy, but also exposes the massive corruption prevailing in the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC).

Christened as Triveni Niwas, the bungalow is located amid a dense residential locality in Kanakia, Mira Road and was inaugurated amid much fanfare more than a decade ago. Now, the peeling walls, dirty interiors, broken furniture, over-grown bushes and mangled gates tell a shocking story of long-standing neglect, raising questions as to how the successive rulers and the administration turned a blind eye to the prestigious property and allowing it to fall into ruin.

Expenses incurred towards the so-called maintenance of the unoccupied structure will shock you. “The MBMC’s public works wing continues to spend `20 lakh annually towards the upkeep of the bungalow, which has earned the tag of a haunted structure. The whole thing smells of corruption which needs to be probed,” alleged social activist Anil Nautiyal.

Apart from Nirmala Savle who held the mayoral chair in 2005, no one, including Narendra Mehta, Tulisdas Mhatre, Catlin Pereira, Geeta Jain and even the present mayor Dimple Mehta occupied the bungalow.