Mumbai: BMC partly demolishes at Kangana Ranaut's Bandra office

Kangana Ranaut's office in Bandra being demolished by BMC. Pic/Shadab Khan

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) partly demolished actor Kangana Ranaut's office in Bandra on Wednesday, claiming that many alterations were carried out on the premises without due permission.

A team of the BMC H-West Ward officers accompanied by a police posse reached the office with bulldozers, JCBs and other heavy equipment and took up the demolition work.

The BMC Executive Engineer said that he was satisfied that the (illegal) works were being carried out and the actress had failed to produce the permissions/approvals/sanction for it as per BMC laws.

"Therefore, the work carried out by you as mentioned in the notice schedule is declared as unauthorised," said the Executive Engineer.

He also said that the ongoing work on the premises was not stopped and warned that it is "liable for forthwith demolition at your risk, cost and consequences".

The notice also cautioned that the actress could face imprisonment of minimum one month up to one year besides penalties.

Kangana, who is on her way from Shimla to Mumbai, said the office was like "Ram Mandir" to her.

Meanwhile, replying to the civic body's notice, Kangana's lawyer said, "No work was being carried out by Kangana Ranaut in her premises as falsely understood by you, so the notice issued by you as "Stop Work Notice" is absolutely bad-in-law and appears to have been issued only to intimidate her by misusing your dominant position."

On Tuesday, BMC had slapped a notice on Kangana for carrying out allegedly illegal extensions to her office premises in suburban Bandra. "A notice has been issued to Kangana Ranaut and she has been directed to file her reply within 24 hours, after which appropriate action will be initiated in the matter," sand H-West Assistant Municipal Commissioner Vinayak Vispute.

He added that the BMC had already issued her a notice for a different structure two years ago, and the latest notice was the first one served for the office.

The development came a day after a BMC team paid a surprise visit to her office and surveyed the premises at Bungalow No 5, Chetan Row House, Nargis Dutt Road, Bandra west.

Earlier in the day, the BMC team served the notice to Ranaut's staffers who refused to accept it after which it was pasted outside her office.

Among other things, the actress has been ordered to stop the ongoing works inside her office premises of Manikarnika Films and provide the necessary permissions for the construction, some of which was allegedly found to be unauthorised, within 24 hours.

These include merging of two bungalows, converting a ground-floor toilet into an office cabin, converting a storeroom into a kitchen, making an unauthorised pantry in the ground floor, adding toilets near the storeroom and a parking area, illegal partitions in first floor living room, an illegal meeting room in the pooja room, converting a balcony into a habitable area besides a floor extension, among others.

The bungalow, which Ranaut had bought three years ago, is listed as a residential property by the BMC.

When questioned, BMC Mayor Kishori Pednekar said that the action follows a complaint received by the civic body and had nothing to do with the ongoing controversies over the actress' remarks against Mumbai Police, people of Mumbai or the state government.

"Following a complaint in the matter, we are initiating action as per the BMC laws. This is not vendetta or witch-hunt in any manner," Pednekar told mediapersons.

(With inputs from agency)

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