‘Car dealer using BEST bus depot to run his business’

Gravityy Motors at Borivli West. Pics/Nimesh Dave

A city-based advocate's letter to the BEST general manager has revealed that a car dealer, who runs a business of buying and selling second-hand vehicles, has been allegedly using a depot of the undertaking for his business. As per the letter, he has kept his vehicles parked at the Gorai BEST depot in stark violation of norms. The BEST administration had opened up some of its depots a couple of years back for parking of vehicles, but as per the rules they were never meant for carrying out commercial activities.

Advocate Manjula Biswas in her letter to the BEST has highlighted the alleged violations of norms. mid-day is in possession of the letter dated November 23, 2021. The letter further mentions that car dealer Sunny Panchal, who is the owner of Gravityy Motors, has allegedly defaulted on payment for using the parking lot and continues to use the premises for his business. Speaking to mid-day, Biswas claimed that flouting of norms could be possible due to two reasons - BEST officials are aware of the misuse of the parking space, but are turning a blind eye to the problem or officials are not inspecting the space properly.

Letter sent to BEST by an advocate claims that the vehicles parked at the depot belong to a car dealer, who is using the space in violation of norms

The Borivli-based advocate further added, "No BEST employee is usually present at the depot to monitor entry and exit of vehicles. Had they kept proper vigil, misuse of the depot could have been avoided." "When I visited the parking lot I noticed no logbook or register was being maintained for vehicles. The vehicles parked were second-hand cars. If a common man can spot this violation, then how are BEST officials not aware of the misuse of the parking lot?" Biswas questioned.

She added, "To substantiate my claims, I have taken a few images and annexed them to the complaint letter sent to the BEST administration." While BEST General Manager, Lokesh Chandra told mid-day that he would check the issue, a spokesperson of the undertaking said, "BEST will take appropriate action if any anomalies are found." A couple of years back when BEST opened up some of its depots for parking of two-wheelers, cars and heavy vehicles, it had decided to allow the same on an hourly basis and based on monthly passes. While drafting the rules, it categorically mentioned that the premises could not be used for commercial purposes.

The other side

Meanwhile, Sunny Panchal claimed that the allegations of pending dues were baseless. When asked about the alleged violation of rules, Panchal said, "I have been using the premises for over two years now. I have been paying a monthly rent of R92,400. The BEST administration was well aware of my business, and yet they allowed me to use the premises and pay rent for over two years. Now all of a sudden the administration wakes up and says that I will have to remove all my vehicles within a day. This has led to trauma for my staff and me. The BEST officials have communicated this verbally and have not served any notice or given me time to make alternate arrangements."

The car dealer further claimed that even luxury buses are parked at the depot. "The parking space neither has lights or security. I installed CCTV cameras and provided connectivity for lights from my office. Despite all of this, I'm being treated like an encroacher," Panchal stated.