Indian Express 11.12.2010
Development plan: French firm official speaks Marathi, consultant gets nod
After delaying the appointment of a consultant for revising the development plan of the city because the presentation of the consultant firm was not available in Marathi, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation finally appointed a consortium of French and Indian companies for the same on Friday.
The standing committee members approved the proposal on Friday, but not before a French official from the Paris-based urban design firm, Memoris, spoke a few lines in Marathi. His Indian counterpart also made the presentation in Marathi.
The consortium, which comprises Memoris and SCE India Pvt Ltd of Bangalore, has been asked to prepare a detailed DP over the next 27 months at a cost of Rs 5.68 crore. It will provide the technical as well as manpower assistance in chalking out the new DP using geographic information system, quick bird satellite imagery etc. It will also formulate a land use survey map on the basis of a base map and suggest reservations to be made on land.
The standing committee members had, in their meeting on December 1, postponed the approval for the consultant’s appointment because the presentation was in English. The presentation on Friday, however, was in Marathi completely. An official from the DP said, “When the French company knew the reason for delay, they said one of their officials would learn to speak a few lines in Marathi to please the corporators.”
