Sonu Sood slammed by BMC for converting Juhu residential into hotel

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC is mulling initiating action against actor Sonu Sood for operating a residential hotel in Juhu despite not receiving clearances from the civic body The actor has however said that he is not doing anything illegally and the regularisation of the property in Shiv Sagar building for use as a residential hotel was under processBMC officials confirmed on Thursday that Sood had not yet complied with all its norms to operate a lodging and boarding facility in Shiv Sagar building in Juhu We have still not received an amended proposal for the property following our remarks on the initial proposal said an official of the BMCs Building and Proposal DepartmentThe building is used to operate a residential hotel without the necessary permissions activists alleged PicsSatej ShindeSood had in June 2018 made a proposal to the BP Department of BMCs KWest ward office for allowing him to convert the residential premise into a lodging and boarding facility However the proposal was returned by the BMC in September 2018 demanding complete compliance with its norms The amended proposal is however yet to be submitted by the actor This is also evident on the official website of the civic body that tracks such proposalsThe premises were inspected by KWest ward officials on Thursday to verify the complaints and an official on the condition of anonymity confirmed that the lodging facility was being operated without legal licences and thus a prosecution against the actor would be initiated soon Following Soods proposal the assistant engineer of BP department in September 2018 had given it a technical rejection with remarks reading By direction please comply instructions dated 2409 2018 in proposal flow given by EEBPK and resubmitInstructions of the EEBPThe Executive Engineer of the Building Proposal EEBP department K ward mentioned that the proposal is returned due to the following reasons 1 Survey remarks required to check road wideningsetback if any 2 Toilets are proposed in existing balconies 3 Parking requirement and free of FSI component is as per an earlier approval for residential buildings and should be as per DCR 1967 and 4 Directives of Honorable Court for dumping must be followedOfficials of the BP department on Friday said that they havent received any amended proposal yet A senior officer of the department who did not wish to be named said We had asked for compliance of several aspects pertaining to fire safety FSI consumption and parking requirement details among others The plot also falls under the Coastal Regulation Zone but has been approved according to the DCR 1967 Development Control RegulationsIt is definitely not something that cannot be regularised but the fresh amendments to the proposal must be made and resubmitted for approvals According to our records it hasnt reached us yet A senior civic official from KWest ward added that to run such a business permissions and licences from the health department are needed which were clearly found missing during inspection Prashant Gaikwad the assistant municipal commissioner of KWest ward was unavailable for commentAlways follow protocolSonu Sood however maintained that he has the fire compliance in place I also have the necessary shops and establishment licences with me and the regularisation is already under process There are a few more documents that the BMC needs and my architect will provide them shortly Since it is an old building a lot of paperwork is involved I have been supporting the BMC and recently even got the garbage cleared from a nearby place which was turned into a dumping yard Sood saidI have always followed due protocol and do things according to the rules A miscellaneous proposal for regularisation of the restaurant is submitted to Building Proposal Bandra West MCGM under section 342 The Chief Fire Officer has also given his NOC All relevant documents required for approval have been submitted and the proposal for regularisation is under scrutiny at the competent authority Sood insistedRooms available on websitesCivic activist Ganesh Kusumulu who had complained to the BMC regarding this issue said that various violations are taking place inside this building and the KWest ward is not taking any prompt action Kusumbu also claimed that the hotel rooms are available on several hotel booking websites for under the name Hotel Shakti Sagar despite not having its licences in placeWhy a BMC engineer returned the proposal Survey remarks required to check road wideningsetback if any Toilets are proposed in existing balconies Parking requirement and free of FSI component is as per an earlier approval for residential buildings and should be as per DCR 1967 Directives of Honorable Court for dumping must be followedCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates