A day after the National Green Tribunal dismissed the appeal filed by illegal film studio owners against a BMC showcase notice to them to discontinue operations, the BMC early on April 7 began demolition of the balance five illegal studios at Madh, Malad in Bombay. Till last evening, two of the structures had already been pulled down. Six studios had been razed earlier but the remaining five studio owners had obtained a stay.
In an order dated September 6, 2022, the BMC chief had ordered an inquiry against the unauthorised construction of studios at Madh, Marve, Erangal and Bhati villages of Malad. There were allegations that thousands of square metres of studios were built without proper permissions, using fraudulent documents with the help of officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority.
In November last year, the BMC stayed its 2019 circular which allowed the raising of temporary structures on private land for erecting film studios, pointing that there were loopholes in the same. That was also one of the reasons why the NGT dismissed the studio owners’ petition.