A Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation circular issued in May 2019 as part of the BJP-Shiv Sena government’s ease-of-doing-business initiative is under scrutiny following BJP leader Kirit Somaiya’s recent complaint against illegal studios in coastal regulation zone (CRZ) and no-development zone (NDZ) areas in the Madh region of Malad, Bombay. The BMC had issued notices to four such studios which had allegedly come up with political backing and without proper permissions. Three studios have since been dismantled while the owner of the court has obtained a stay order from court against the BMC’s demolition order.
Municipal commissioner Harshad Kale was asked to probe into the matter of illegal studios. The probe will also review the ease-of-doing-business circular and look into the roles of the BMC and the state coastal zone management authority officials in allowing the studios to be constructed. It is felt that the BMC’s local ward office had granted permission for the construction of temporary and semi-permanent structures as studios because of the said circular. As per the 2019 circular, the state grants nod for shooting films, TV serials, advertisements and documentaries without considering land reservation as outlined in a 2018 GR, and the BMC is required to grant approvals on similar lines. However, officials said, the term ‘land reservation’ in the circular had been misinterpreted by civic officials to get around zonal curbs. “Reservation is for a school or playground while a zone means CRZ or NDZ,” an official said, adding, “For bypassing zonal restrictions, permission is required, but not for reserved land.”