Kamala Mills Fire | Bombay High Court slams BMC, picks loopholes in rooftop restaurant policy

The Bombay High Court on Monday, picked loopholes in the rooftop restaurant policy finalised by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, it said, “As per several enactments the terrace is a common amenity area, how can it be used by an owner/developer or a particular member. It is illegal.”

A division bench of Justice RM Borde and Justice Rajesh Ketkar also urged the government and the corporation to wake up and take the example of the Kamala Mills fire, in which 13 people lost their lives, as an opportunity to revisit and correct in future and also have a mechanism to check violations committed by restaurants.

The bench while asking the corporation to place on record by Wednesday, its rooftop restaurant policy said “As per MOFA, RERA and Apartment Ownership Acts, if a member is a lessee or tenant will he have a right to the amenities and will consent of other members not be required for letting out the area.” The court made it clear to the civic body that it wants to understand from it the clear ‘definition of a rooftop restaurant’. “What is the idea behind this policy,” it said. It added that granting licences for eating out places, as was …read more