Cafe Mondegar faces eviction

The Metro House Pvt Ltd, which houses the famous Cafe Mondegar, has been issued an eviction notice by the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT). The last day for response is slated as May 19.

Cafe Mondegar is among those prominent places in the city which is not only popular among Mumbaikars, but it also features in the itinerary of visiting tourists.

Besides Cafe Mondegar, the over a century-old landmark building on Shahid Bagat Singh Marg — Colaba Causeway — has several popular places like shoe shops and franchises of famous eateries.

The notice was issued after the MbPT, which owns the building, realised that many violations like illegal sub-letting, unauthorised alterations, unpaid rent or service tax. The port trust officials said that there were 35 violations in all that forced them to issue the notice late last year.

The notice, however, comes with a relief. Should the Metro House comply and resolve these complaints, the occupants will not be required to clear out. "We served them an eviction notice on November 19, 2014. Many violations had come to our notice. They have time until the May 19, after which the estate officer concerned will ask them why further process for eviction should not be followed. Depending on their reply, further action will be taken," said Ravi Parmar, chairman of MbPT.

According to Parmar, the process will be long-drawn and would take an additional 2-3 months to resolve. While earlier this week, owners of Cafe Mondegar had rubbished all claims that the eatery will be shutting down, they now seem to have resolved to not comment on the issue and have instructed their staff too to not to talk to the media.

"We are not authorised to talk on the issue," said a staffer at Cafe Mondegar.