The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has imposed a fine of Rs 3.07 crore on Apna Fruit Market, which has allegedly been set up on a plot reserved for a playground off Link Road at Shimpoli near Chikuwadi in Borivli West. The action by R Central ward office comes following a complaint by advocate Mukesh Gupta who had urged the civic body to impose a fine on the plot owner or occupier or vendors who had set up wholesale and retail fruit stalls on a reserved playground plot.

Last year, mid-day had reported about a letter sent by two state cabinet members—Sanjay Bansode, minister for sports and youth welfare, and Aditi Tatkare, who holds the women and child development portfolio—to the BMC administration asking for removal of the encroachment and that the ground be used for its intended purpose. After mid-day’s report, Gupta wrote a letter to the BMC administration asking the civic officials to recover revenue loss that the corporation has incurred due to the ongoing fruit market business on the plot.