Mumbai: Rooftop restaurant in Borivli that BMC refuses to demolish

All the structures on this rooftop are illegal but the municipal corporation has not demolished them yetIf you thought the Kamala Mills blaze had finally jolted the BMC into a zerotolerance attitude towards restaurants with unauthorised construction think again The civic body has managed to raze 913 establishments in less than a fortnight since the tragedy but it seems 15 months are not enough time for officials to demolish illegal alterations to a rooftop restaurant and hookah parlour in BorivliIn September 2016 the Borivli police raided the fivestorey Hotel Granville in Borivli and found unauthorised structures on the rooftop where the management was running a hookah parlour and an openair restaurant illegally This is the same combination of factors that led to the fire at Kamala Mills on December 29 that killed 14 people In fact the unauthorised construction is even more extensive at Hotel Granvilles rooftop featuring multiple storeys stacked like matchboxes along with a staircaseDuring the raid the police arrested the owner six waiters and 13 customers at the hookah parlour The same year the BMC also initiated action under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning MRTP Act for the illegal constructions on the terrace but did not remove the structuresStill standingOver a year has passed and midday found the structures still standing on the rooftop After the police action the hookah parlour was shut but the rooms and structures continue to stand The ward officials are helping the hotel by dragging their feet on the demolition The BMC had admitted that the terrace structure is illegal and they also took action under the MRTP Act said local MNS leader Prasad Kulapkar who has been pursuing the matter for more than a year and has filed several complaints at the RCentral ward officeHe further alleged When I enquired why the structures had not been demolished the officials gave the excuse that the matter was in court This is clear case of shielding the hotel as there is no court stay on the demolition Whats worse according to Kulapkar the terrace structures are serviced only by one narrow staircase and there is no fire exit which could lead to customers getting trapped in case of a fire which is what happened at 1Above and Mojos Bistro at Kamala MillsThe BMCs ongoing action against eateries that violate fire safety norms seems to be an eyewash Despite complaints the local ward office is not ready to demolish illegal constructions on the terrace Kulapkar added After finding no concrete action against the hotel Kulapkar filed another complaint at the Rcentral ward office in March 2017 The designated officer DO who is entitled to take action against illegal constructions responded that the BMC was prosecuting the restaurant and that the case was going on in civil court The official further stated that further action would be taken after the final orderAnother local MNS leader Nayan Kadam alleged The illegal terrace structures were not touched so there is a high possibility that they will start serving hookah there after some timeThe other sideAtul Rao assistant municipal commissioner of RCentral ward said After our notice the hotel management had demolished part of the terrace structure I had visited the place 34 months ago and found it shut On December 31 2017 we also took action against the illegal shed on the ground floor of the hotel When asked why the entire rooftop structure had not been demolished Rao said They are not using that part We have taken action under the MRTP Act and the case is going on in the civil court We will now try to speed up the case for further actionDivyang Patani the managing director of Hotel Granville said The hookah parlour and open terrace are permanently closed The open terrace part is permanently closed For the structure we have got a stay order from the court against BMC action However when midday ran an online search on Hotel Granville reviews given by two customers mentioned openair dining at the hotel Patani was also failed to provide a copy of the alleged stay order06No of waiters arrested in a raid in 201613No of customers arrested in the same raidCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news current affairs from Mumbai local news crime news and breaking headlines hereDownload the new midday Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go