Only 4 rooftop restaurants in Mumbai are legal, says BMC

As opposed to earlier rules, hoteliers will now not be able to procure the next level of NOC, until the first one is complied with.

After the controversial rooftop policy was approved by the municipal commissioner in November last year, 16 eateries have sought permission to serve customers on open terraces. While citizens say that several rooftop restaurants continue to thrive in the city, according to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), only four so far have been given permission. With no policy in place till November, no eateries have permission to run the restaurants on open terrace.

Restaurants in the city have come under BMC’s scrutiny after the Kamala Mills tragedy last year.(HT file)

A civic official on the condition of anonymity said, “The hotel licensing process has been streamlined and also made more stringent. Due to the stringent process, restaurants are not applying, fearing that they will be denied permissions and come on the civic body’s radar.”

Most of the applications have been filed by eateries in G south ward — which also houses Kamala Mills. “We have received applications from 16 eateries so far. While 12 are under detailed scrutiny, four have been awarded permission to run rooftop restaurants,” said IA Kundan, additional municipal commissioner.

However, citizen activists claim the opposite. “The restaurants serving on terraces and running hookah places were served notices initially and were closed for a while. But now, they are back in business,” said Anandini Thakoor, a Bandra-based civic activist.

It had been observed in BMC’s report into the Kamala Mills fire that old photographs were submitted by 1Above restaurant – one of the two commercial establishments in which the fire broke out – for getting the fire no-objection certificate (NOC). In view of this, the BMC now makes it mandatory for applicants to upload the picture of the restaurant premises, along with the dates of fire NOCs received.

As opposed to earlier rules, hoteliers will now not be able to procure the next level of NOC, until the first one is complied with. As per the new rule, the health department staff will inspect the premises from a health and hygiene point of view and report whether all requirements have been met with. The proposal will then be processed and after approval of the assistant commissioner concerned, the fees for license to operate will be generated. Then, the licence will be generated in the system with all the necessary disclaimers and footer.

As per the rooftop restaurant policy, only buildings with occupation certificate and an existing eating house will be allowed to run rooftop restaurants.