Following an order by the Bombay high court, the Lonavala Municipal Council finally sealed 10 hotels in the hill station that had been operating without proper commercial permission from the council.
Following an order by the Bombay high court, the Lonavala Municipal Council (LMC) finally sealed 10 hotels in the hill station that had been operating without proper commercial permission from the council. The hotels have been restrained from using the property for commercial business.
The Lonavala council has initiated action against unauthorised hotels in Lonavala, Khandala and Tungarli village.
Hotels had sprouted up by the dozen in the periphery of LMC as Lonavala is a tourist destination. However, most of these hotels had been constructed in residential zones and didn’t obtain proper permissions to run their businesses. The council realised the fact when Kishore Jain, a Mumbai resident, who owns a bungalow in Lonavala filed a case against one of the hotels. He filed a case against the hotel after the entrance to his house was blocked by cars of hotel customers.
Jain filed a case against the hotel in the Vadgaon (Pune) court and won it.
Sanjay Bajaj, who owns the holiday home, challenged the order in the Pune court. However, both the Pune district court and Mumbai high court confirmed the lower court’s order and on April 29, directed the Lonavala Municipal Council to demolish and stop commercial activity in residential zones.
But, the municipal Council did not act accordingly and the resort was not shut down. Jain then filed a contempt petition in the Bombay high court, which pulled up the Lonavala Council and asked them why legal action should not be taken against them.
Following the order, Yogesh Godse, CEO of LMC, admitted that there were 13 hotels which did not have proper permissions and agreed to take action immediately.
On Monday, Godse said, “The council took action against 10 hotels, which are being run without permissions. But one of the hotels is very old. Hotel Ashoka was constructed in 1967, so on technical grounds we could not take action against it.
Kishore Jain, the complainant, said, “I do not own any business here, my only objection was that the hotels were running without permissions and in residential areas. The council granted only residential permission for all structures in this area and the owners were running their businesses and creating a nuisance for other residents. I have been fighting the case for 8 years and have finally won the battle.”
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