BMC serves notice to Bandra mall for illegal alterations
MUMBAI: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has served a notice to the popular Crystal Mall located on Bandra’s Linking Road, for unauthorised construction.
Sharad Ughade, assistant commissioner of H West ward, under whose jurisdiction this area falls, said, “The owners of the mall have a month from the date when the notice was issued, to remove the illegal alterations. If that is not done, BMC will take appropriate action.”
The son of the builder who constructed the mall said he does not deal with matters of Crystal Mall anymore and had handed over charge of the same to the cooperative society of shop owners who run commercial outlets there. However, the society said the notice should be addressed to the builder, who they said built the unauthorised construction.
The notice (a copy of which is with Hindustan Times) was issued on October 16 under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act for illegally installing an electric meter in the basement of the mall, contrary to the building plan approved at the time of issuing an occupation certificate to the building. Addressed to the chairman of the mall, the notice asks the owners and occupiers of the mall to regularise the illegal structural alterations.
Crystal Mall, which was built in 2006, has courted controversy over the past few years.
The BMC had served notices under the MRTP Act (copies of which are with HT) to the builder of the mall, Mukesh Doshi, in 2011 and 2016. These were issued for undertaking unauthorised construction.
Kaushal Doshi, son of Mukesh Doshi, said, “Regarding the previous years’ notices, they were closed after we took the required action and removed the structural alterations. This was in 2017. Then we formed a cooperative society, which will be dealing with the latest notice. I handed over the entire charge to the cooperative society and do not deal with matters of Crystal Mall anymore.”