BMC helped restaurant owner grab open space

A plush residential society in Malad has accused officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) of assisting a restaurant owner in “grabbing their building’s mandatory open space and parking area”. Residents of Unique Garden cooperative housing society — a high-rise located on the Main Link Road — have alleged that permissions facilitating the use of a ground floor apartment, which was originally meant to be used for the purpose of a professional office, were issued to a restaurant without following mandatory norms.

Prasen Agali, the land lord who had given a private builder the right to redevelop the property and sale surplus flats so created, said the BMC’s health, fire and the building proposal department have issued permissions facilitating the change of use.

Using the RTI Act, the residents found out that even their mandatory open space, which was supposed to be untouched, was allotted for the proposed restaurant use, so was the parking lot.

The private builder had transferred the right of use of the ground floor apartment to one Rushi Mali. Mali, who had initially applied for using the apartment for a grocery shop, changed his plans and decided to set up a restaurant.

However, following the demolition of the building’s compound wall, the residents approached MP Sanjay Nirupam, MLA Aslam Sheikh and local politico Satnam Singh Tiwana, besides approaching the police. “We were shocked to see the fraudulent manner in which permissions were issued. A meeting has been fixed with the assistant municipal commissioner on Monday to resolve the matter,” said Shaikh, who visited the society on Sunday.