The monstrous city crawlers let loose on Mumbai's streets by one of its most vital public sector undertakings are a godawful eyesore, the minister has decreed. Belching noxious fumes as they lumber along the city's streets, these monstrosities also pose a danger to the antiques and other artifacts in the museum, he says.

"I want everything around the museum cleared as soon as possible. The hawkers have encroached on the pavements, there are sheds of the Public Works Department out there and in addition - the bus stops. The bus stops can be housed somewhere else in the area and the authorities concerned should take care of the same," Navalkar says.

Far from being a personal fancy,the minister's brainwave was part of a discussion on a project called "Beautification of Kala Ghoda Precinct". During the meeting, attended by senior government officials and prominent personalities concerned with the city's development, it was suggested that the Kala Ghoda precinct be declared an "aesthetic zone".

However, the primary target will be the Dr Shyamaprasad Mukherjee Chowk bus terminus just outside the museum, which was set up during the inception of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking more than half a century ago.

If the terminus is shifted, it will have to be relocated outside the precinct, which extends from Regal cinema at the southern end, the Watson hotel building and the Army and Navy building on the western flank and the Lion Gate of the Mumbai Port Trust at the eastern end.

And, despite the daunting logistics involved, BEST General Manager, Vinay Mohan Lal, was most obliging. "We shall find an alternative place for the bus station keeping in mind theminister's wish and commuters' convenience. But if the fumes generated by the buses are affecting the artifacts, we shall have to shift the bus terminus," he said during the meeting attended by architect Rahul Mehrotra, Sabawal of the Tata Housing Development Company Ltd - the company handling the project - J G Kanga of the Kala Ghoda Area Residents' Association, Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Dr P S Pasricha, Additional Municipal Commissioner V Ramani, Dr Sarayu Joshi of the National Gallery of Modern Art and senior officials from various departments of the state government.

The terminus handles about 2,000 buses plying on 17 of the city's most busy routes -- every day. The first bus rolls out at 5 am and the last one trundles out at 1.30 am the next day. The lakhs of people serviced by these routes fan out to destinations like Sewree, Pratikshanagar, Andheri, Trombay, Wadala, Walkeshwar, Tardeo, Worli, Vikhroli, Ghatkopar, Mahim and the J M Mehta Marg.

Moreover, BEST buses halting at theseries of stops lining the pavement opposite and those outside the Regal cinema hall carry an equal number of commuters to and from Nariman Point, which is the Mumbai's central business district, and Navy Nagar as well. On weekdays, the buses are jammed with office-goers while and on holidays, the eyesores lug families to the museum and the Gateway of India.

While the committee mulls over the beautification plan and ponders how to execute it, Mehrotra has been asked to prepare a comprehensive report and submit it within a month. Of course, that's easier said than done.