Mumbai: 11 GMLR shopowners demolish their own illegal structures

Some of the shops whose owners demolished the illegal floors. Pic/Rajesh Gupta

After a warning from Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials to raze them, 11 shop owners have demolished their illegally built floors on their own at Nahur along the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road. The shop owners said they decided to pull down the floors themselves as BMC officials warned them that charges for demolition plus the cost to carry out the action would be levied on them.

Now only a couple of eateries whose owners have received a stay order from the Bombay High Court still have illegal floors. mid-day had exposed the illegal constructions by owners of eateries and pubs along the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR) in December 2022. Only few of the shops had permission to construct an additional floor after the area of the shops was cut down due to road widening for GMLR.

About 50 commercial establishments along the GMLR had illegally added additional floors on the pretext of being affected by road-widening work, an activist had alleged.

Also Read: Illegal GMLR shops: BMC gets last chance to show it acted, or not

SHRC intervened

After mid-day's report, the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) had taken suo motu cognisance of the issue, summoned T ward officials and sought a detailed report on what action was taken since the issue was raised. Since mid-day's report in December 2022, T ward officials acted against only four shops.

The shops without the illegal floors. Pic/Rajesh Gupta

On Monday, a team of T ward officials visited the shops on the GMLR and warned the owners of action of they didn't raze the illegal floors on their own. Following the visit, 11 shopowners razed their illegally raised floors. A bar, pub and an eatery closed down fearing action from BMC.

Shopowners Speak

"We were told by BMC officials about the action and penalty if we did not pull down the floors. So we decided to demolish the floors on our own" said a shopowner.

Another said, "We had been given space to increase our shops by civic officials but now we have been tagged illegal and served notices. It is humiliating, so when BMC officials came to us with a warning, we decided to raze the floor with a heavy heart. We cooperated since the beginning and now also we are doing the same."

Officials from T ward refused to comment on the development.

Shops whose owners razed the additional floors on their own

1) JNS Homes
2) Veere da dhaba
3) Mehta marble
4) AG dormitory
5) Maple plywood
6) Food Sagar
7) MK electrical
8) Max Ceramics
9) Ria lights
10) Spa massage
11) Sweet home furniture

50
No of commercial establishments that allegedly added a floor illegally