A BJP group leader in the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation has asked the civic commissioner not to award Vasai Ganeshotsav-related contracts to non-Hindu contractors, prompting a response from the municipal administration that it will follow the law in awarding the works.
The request was made by Ashok Shelke, BJP group leader in the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation, in a letter to municipal commissioner Prithviraj BP. Shelke urged the civic body not to assign contracts for arrangements connected with the Ganeshotsav festival to non-Hindu contractors.
The VVCMC has begun preparations for the festival, which is scheduled to take place in the coming days. The municipal works associated with the celebrations include erecting pandals, creating artificial immersion ponds, installing barricades along immersion routes, providing illumination and making traffic-related arrangements, according to the report.
Shelke claimed that a majority of the contractors handling such works were non-Hindus. He also alleged that some contractors consumed non-vegetarian food while carrying out work during Hindu festivals, and said this affected what he described as the sanctity of the festival.
“Such practices will not be tolerated hereafter. Even if it causes financial loss, municipal works related to Ganeshotsav should not be awarded to non-Hindu contractors,” Shelke said in the letter and remarks cited in the report.
The demand has triggered controversy within civic circles because it seeks to make contractors’ religion a condition for the award of municipal works. The requested restriction covers a range of public-facing arrangements, including temporary structures, immersion facilities, route management, lighting and traffic coordination.
Commissioner Prithviraj BP said the civic body would comply with the law while awarding contracts. “We follow the law. Anything outside the law will not be followed,” he said.
The commissioner’s response did not provide details of the tendering process, the eligibility conditions currently applicable to the works or whether any contracts had already been awarded. The report also did not indicate whether the civic body had issued a formal order in response to Shelke’s request.
The dispute comes as the VVCMC prepares facilities and traffic-related measures for Ganeshotsav. Artificial immersion ponds, barricading and other arrangements are among the municipal interventions planned for the festival, while the administration’s stated position is that the contracts will be awarded according to applicable law.
The immediate next step is the civic body’s decision on the festival-related works and the implementation of its planned arrangements in Vasai-Virar.
