Rap for BMC officials who allowed five film studios to operate illegally

The civic officials from P (North) ward in Malad who failed to take action against five film studios in the Madh-Marve region for functioning beyond their licence period will be liable for punishment according to a 5000-page confidential report recently submitted to municipal chief Iqbal Singh Chahal

The civic officials from P (North) ward in Malad who failed to take action against five film studios in the Madh-Marve region for functioning beyond their licence period will be liable for punishment according to a 5000-page confidential report recently submitted to municipal chief Iqbal Singh Chahal.

Rap for BMC officials who allowed five film studios to operate illegally

Chahal returned recently from Argentina after a four-day C40 Global Mayors Summit and is yet to review the report. But Hindustan Times is privy to some details from it through reliable sources in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

“After the municipal commissioner clears the report, it will move to the inquiry department,” said a reliable civic source. “It is certain that the officials will be penalised but the quantum of punishment will be decided by the inquiry department. It also depends on what approach the commissioner takes.”

The starting point of the issue was on September 6 when the municipal commissioner issued a notification stating that between 2021 and 2022, around 49 complaints had been received by the BMC from citizens alleging that several illegal studios had been constructed at a No Development Zone (NDZ) and Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) at Malad-Marve and Madh.

The complaints said that the structures had been constructed without any documents or through fake documents procured with the help of BMC and Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) officers. Chahal on the same day ordered an inquiry to investigate the role of the then assistant municipal commissioner of P (North) ward, the assistant engineer and other officials in the case.

Subsequent to Chahal’s orders, 21 film studios were put under the scanner, of which it was found that five were functioning illegally beyond their licence validity period. Nearly 43 witnesses were examined for the report, which was submitted to the municipal chief’s office before Diwali. HT had reported the issue on September 27.

Chahal also directed the investigating officer to specify the role of each BMC officer in the irregularities and to suggest what action needed to be taken against them.

“The five studios were legal, with an NOC from the Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) but that was only for six months,” said a civic official. “They did not have the requisite permission to operate beyond that. Civic officials should have taken action against them but didn’t.”

HT has now learnt that of the 21 studios, 16 studios where film shootings take place have been in existence for the last 15 to 20 years. “The illegalities are not that grave here but the P (North) ward office has been directed to issue notices to these 16 studios as well and make them toe the line,” said the civic official. “If they let their space out for shootings, they need to procure a license from the BMC’s license department.”

The civic body had issued permissions to studios based on its building proposal department’s circular on the ‘Ease of Doing Business’. “The only pre-requisite to conduct shootings now is to take licenses. The license department is now intervening and impressing upon the studios to take a license from the BMC, failing which P (North) ward will take action against them,” said the civic official.

When asked if all the 21 film studio structures were authorised, the official said that they would find out after issuing the notices. “Depending on their replies and assessment remarks, we will learn if their structures are illegal or not,” he said.

The film industry is a huge one, and civic officials learned on a site visit that 200 people were employed in the area from carpenters to audio technicians to spot boys, set decorators and make-up artistes. “In the wider social context, we have to take a call, as the contribution of this sector to the GDP is huge, besides Mumbai being famous for being the epicentre of Bollywood. So we have to ensure that film studios are permitted. There is a 2019 policy on film shootings by the BMC on the same,” said the civic official.