19 April,2015 11:11 AM IST | | Tanvi Deshpande
The civic body has slapped a fine of Rs 20,23,545 on the Trident Hotel at Nariman Point, for apparently barricading a part of the footpath on Dorabji Tata road
It is not just Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel, which has been charged a hefty amount for occupying a part of Mumbai's roads. Hotel Trident, at Nariman Point, has suffered a similar blow.
Security barricades along the footpath in front of the Trident Hotel, Nariman Point, Mumbai. Pic/Bipin Kokate
It was reported that on March 30, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had asked the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel to pay an amount of Rs 2 crore for barricading a part of the footpath in front of it from November 2012 onwards. And now it has come to light that a similar fine has been slapped on the Trident as well.
It has been asked to cough up Rs 20,23,545 for barricading a part of the footpath on Dorabji Tata road. Of this, Rs 16,09,920 is the occupancy charge while Rs 4,13,620 is the interest levied for a period of November 1, 2012 to March 31 2015.
After the 26/11 terror attacks, the city police appealed to all major hotels in the city to take certain security measures that included placing barricades in front of their buildings to restrict the flow of people around it. But since the barricades have taken up portions of public footpaths, the civic body decided to levy a Road Occupancy Charge.
"The amount is determined taking into consideration the area occupied, multiplied by a rate of occupancy. In this case, we have sent them a letter on March 30 to pay the outstanding dues since 2013," said a BMC engineer from the A-Ward on condition of anonymity. The letter is marked âmost important' and Trident officials are expected to pay the amount immediately.
Lalit Jain, a resident of Colaba, who has been pursuing the matter with the BMC since 2009, said: "These hotels are arrogant and they think nobody can bring them to book despite flouting laws. Taj had placed flowerpots outside the building. How can that be a security measure? This âdadagiri' on part of the hotels is causing a lot of inconvenience to the pedestrians."
When contacted, the representative of Hotel Trident asked the query to be emailed. But, till the time of going to press, the hotel officials were yet to respond to our official mail.
