Mumbai: Plan to privatise city’s public swimming pools sparks outrage

The Wadala pool lying shut

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has been considering handing over the management of all 13 swimming pools to private entities under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, citing financial losses in running these facilities in Mumbai.

However, pool members and some insiders within the BMC argued that this move was a deliberate attempt to cover up administrative failures. mid-day investigated the matter and learnt that the gymnasiums - one each at Kandivli West and Dahisar East swimming facilities - have been lying dysfunctional since inception.

Unused gym machines at the Dahisar facility

"All the expensive machines at these gymnasiums are gathering dust because the head office is not at all bothered to start these gyms," said an insider in the BMC.

Kandivli

"Kandivli swimming pool was inaugurated on March 1, 2022. If the officials did not want to start the gymnasium, why did they invest so much money in purchasing the machines? Today the swimming pools are running under loss and they are planning to give these facilities into the hands of private players. If it goes under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model, they will surely start the gym to make good profit," said a civic official requesting anonymity.

"Why the senior babus are not working on starting canteen facilities at swimming pools? All the swimming pools have a huge space where counters can be made to sell swimming gears, the space can be used for pay and park use, etc. But these babus are only interested in showing a deficit between the expenditure incurred and the revenue received from the members," said the official.

Another BMC insider said, "Initially, contractors were brought in to manage the swimming facilities in Mumbai, but there has been a lack of proper supervision over their operations. Furthermore, all their bills are promptly cleared by the BMC without proper verification, bypassing the necessary checks to ensure whether the payments should be approved or held for further scrutiny."

Wadala

Wadala swimming pool has been lying shut since July 10 for maintenance. "The members of Wadala swimming pool were informed that the facility will be shut for 10 days for maintenance work, but it is yet to be restarted. The members have been coming almost every alternate day to ask when it will be resumed, but the authorities have no clear reply as none of them are aware of any development," said a member of Wadala swimming pool requesting anonymity.

Dadar

The members at Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Olympic Swimming Pool, Dadar have been fuming over pools going under the PPP model and said that these facilities are for recreational purposes and not a profit-making business.

"The membership fees will skyrocket if these pools are sent to private entities to run. How will the common man think of taking a membership?" said Jitendra Singh, an old member at Dadar facility.

Meanwhile, another member Hemangini Panchal said, "The management is extremely pathetic as they have charged us for a smart card to access the swimming pool but no smart card has been given to us. Plus, despite strong resistance and uproar from members, granite tiles were fixed near the pool. These granite tiles are slippery and after accidents, they will be bound to change it to make the floor anti-skid. So, naturally, if the revenue is wasted like this, the operation cost will be higher."

When contacted, the civic coordinator at the pools in Mumbai, Sandeep Vaishampayan, said, "I am not aware if the pools are going under the PPP model."

However, the Deputy Municipal Commissioner Chanda Jadhav said, "I have recently taken over the charge of this office. My predecessor had conducted some meetings regarding pools going under the PPP model but I am yet to review the meetings."

When asked about why the gyms are not functional at Dahisar and Kandivli swimming pools, and when Wadala pool will be started, Jadhav said, "I will look into the matter and let you know."