BMC orders to drive out hotelier from Sakinaka Market

Cracking the whip, the BMC has issued an order cancelling the lease of a hotelier, who was supposed to develop a vegetable market at a building in Sakinaka, but ended up converting it into a private hall for hosting events and restaurant in blatant disregard of the original agreement.

Ms Peninsula Next, which is owned by Karunakar Shetty of Peninsula Grand hotel, has been asked to hand over the premises located on Andheri-Ghatkopar Link Road back to the BMC. The civic body took this step after its several notices to the hotel owner to stop using the building as a venue for weddings, parties and other events fell on deaf ears. However, local activists have alleged that the civic body is dragging its feet on the takeover.

The irregularities committed by Ms Peninsula Next. According to the original agreement, the single-storey structure was earmarked for a neighbourhood market. But Shetty, whose Peninsula Grand hotel is located adjacent to the structure, started using it for his own business activities, local residents and activists alleged. Shetty is said to have even renamed the structure as Grand Pavilion to make it identifiable as an annex of his hotel.

When the violations were brought to BMC's notice, it issued notices to Shetty, asking him to stop using the building for any other purpose apart from housing shops. But the hotelier apparently refused to toe the line. After carrying out an inspection, the BMC's market department submitted its detailed report on the violations in the market building to Additional Municipal Commissioner IZ Kundan, who issued an order in October to evict the hotel and reclaim the market. "The Additional Municipal Commissioner's orders state that we must cancel the lease agreement and re-enter the property," a senior civic official said.

According to the inspection report, the hotelier also carried out structural changes to the building. The report says that the only way to enter the building is through the hotel now. "Major structural changes have been carried out like the central staircase along with the columns have been removed. Compulsory opens spaces have been done away with," the report states.

RTI activist Anil Galgali, however, said that the BMC's market department is not doing enough. "The BMC must conduct a structural audit of the building and file an FIR against the owners of the hotel for unauthorised construction. The hotel owners have endangered the lives of the people living in surrounding areas by making structural changes," Galgali said.