The Indian Express              18.06.2013

MC issues notices to 120 guesthouses in villages

A large number of guesthouses are present in the villages around the city. Without paying any heed to the existing building bylaws, these have sprouted up over the years. There are violations galore in most of the buildings. The guesthouses are primarily present in Burail, Kajheri and Attawa, among other places.

The guesthouses are multistorey buildings constructed along with a basement. Dingy rooms, lack of fire safety norms and electricity wires hanging loose are some of the common problems that are there in the guesthouses. In fact in some of the villages, there are rows of guesthouses present together. Providing cheap accommodation, these guesthouses evade all kinds of taxes. Around three years ago, the MC had prepared a report on the violations and action had been recommended. However, nothing came out of it.

New bylaws have been framed for villages under which the new guesthouses that will be constructed will fall. However, the notices that have been issued require the existing guesthouses to conform to the bylaws that are already present.

Municipal Commissioner Vivek Pratap Singh says that notices have been issued to the owners of guesthouses to ask them to inform whether the building plans have been approved. In case there are many violations in the buildings and these cannot conform to the existing bylaws, these will face closure.

The guesthouse owners will be required to submit their building plans and get these approved. All formalities will have to be completed.