The Bombay High Court on Friday asked the owners of DG Chambers in Fort which housed Dwarka, a vegetarian hotel which is popular with the legal fraternity, to plan to complete the essential repair work before monsoon.
The high court also asked the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Chief Fire Officer (CFO) to grant the necessary permission, in accordance with law, by May 8 for the repair of the 100-year-old building which is at the western end of Dalal Street.
The court also asked the owners, Irishman Developers Pvt Ltd, to take necessary care while undertaking repairs considering the building is situated on a busy street. It also noted that since the building housed a restaurant, a permission from the CFO was necessary.
Advocate for the Owners, Yashodeep Deshmukh, informed the HC that it has already made the application seeking necessary permission with the building proposal department for repairs and for putting up scaffoldings.
However, the BMC advocate said that although they have made an application, they have not attached relevant documents. A bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Kamal Khata laid down a timeline for the permissions to be granted and commencement of repair work.
The owners have been asked to submit documents by April 1 for repairs and putting up scaffolding. The building proposal department has been asked to forward the same to CFO, who has to grant necessary permission, in accordance with law, by April 29.
“Under no circumstances this (CFO clearance) is to be compromised as the building is between two roads and every safety measure must be put in place,” the bench said. However, it added that there can’t be an “indefinite delay”.
After CFO’s clearance, the same would be sent back to the building proposal which has been directed to grant clearance by May 8. The court has then asked the owners to commence the repair work "at the earliest".
"Care will be taken at every stage… there will be barricading , including safety nets… and no damage should be done to the parked vehicles and pedestrians," the bench emphasised. The court had said that the Essential work be completed before monsoon, Otherwise it will delay the entire work by several months.
The HC has kept the matter for further directions on June 14.
In January, the HC directed Kamath Brothers, which run Dwarka, and 21 other tenants, to vacate the premises by January 29 so that the owners can undertake the repairs of the building. Kamath Brothers moved the high court recently, through their advocate Simil Purohit, claiming that despite them having vacated the premises, there has been no progress on the repair work of the building.
