The Indian Express 18.06.2013
MC issues notices to 120 guesthouses in villages
Municipal Corporation has served notices to 120 such guesthouses. The
owners have been asked to inform them about whether the building plans
have been approved and the requisite clearances are in place. In case of
violations that cannot be rectified, the guesthouses could face
closure.
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.
