Following the Kamala Mills blaze, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has also decided to crack down on restaurants with illegal structures and unauthorised extensions on their premises.
As part of the drive, the NMMC demolished illegal structures in three hotels and removed a generator from one hotel. The NMMC sent a team comprising a fire officer and an encroachment and ward official to survey every hotel under its jurisdiction.
Assistant Municipal Commissioner Ankush Chavan said, “Violations like not having emergency exits, fire safety equipment, and unauthorised alterations and extensions are being specifically checked. We are issuing penalties to errant restaurants. We have also issued notices to produce NOCs, failing which electricity and water connections will be terminated.”
NMMC officials demolished a shelter illegally constructed on the terrace of Barbeque Nation at Sector 6 in Nerul. Sanjay Tayade, ward officer of Nerul, said, “The terrace area had small cabins and a table area. Two months ago, we had issued a notice to the restaurant. We have now demolished the encroachment and collected a fine of ₹50,000.”
NMMC officials also razed an illegally built stilt at Adarsh Hotel in Koparkhairane and demolished the terrace area and the third floor of Hotel Neelkiran at Sector 24 in Turbhe. Officials confiscated generators kept at a marginal space area in Hotel Vishwakamal at Sector 11 in CBD Belapur.
Officials said that Mojo’s Bistro, whose outlet was one of the two that caught fire at Kamala Mills compound on December 29, had shut down their outlet at Sector 30 A in Vashi.
Mahendrasingh Thokke, ward officer of Vashi, said, “In 2016, we had sent the restaurant an encroachment notice. They later got a stay order against the notice from the court. Now, we have found that the whole hotel has illegal structures and have been running restaurants in space meant for IT offices. We have again sent notices to them. The hotel has stopped operations at its Vashi outlet after the Kamala Mills fire.”
