Mumbai, March 21 (MD): After 142 years, the civic administration has finalised on its foundation day September 4, 1873. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is now preparing a proposal to officially celebrate the date.

A senior BMC official claimed that, in the past, higher authorities had expressed desire to celebrate the foundation day, but the plan got shelved due to technicalities. However, Sitaram Kunte insisted on having a foundation date and thus the day the very first meeting of the civic body was held September 4, 1873 was finalised as BMC’s foundation day.

Commenting on the development, Kunte said, “Our team is working on the final details.”

An expensive affair

While Kunte seems upbeat about celebrating the foundation day, a senior official claimed that the festivities would only add to the expenditure if the corporators demand a grand celebration.

The official said, “In an earlier meeting, the idea to celebrate the foundation day was broached. But it was dropped after considering the aspects like expenditure, and the demand for a holiday started cropping up. However, the situation seems to have changed now.”

Seeking approval

Confirming that a proposal is being readied, a high-ranking official claimed that the proposal would be tabled before the administration and the corporators for approval. “The commissioner had asked us to finalise the date and ready the proposal. Since this was the day (September 4, 1873) when the first official civic meeting was held, we shortlisted it. However, most of the work done on this day was not related to civic issues,” the official added.