Salt Water Grill is on public land

The city collector’s office will soon put up boards outside actor Suniel Shetty’s restaurant Salt Water Grill at Girgaum Chowpatty saying the space occupied by the restaurant and the water sports complex H2O is open to the public, reports Sayli Udas Mankikar.

The city collector’s office will soon put up boards outside actor Suniel Shetty’s restaurant Salt Water Grill at Girgaum Chowpatty saying the space occupied by the restaurant and the water sports complex H2O is open to the public.

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The restaurant was shut down in December 2008 after a Bombay High Court ruling on a petition alleging violation of environmental norms and a demolition notice issued by the state environment authority.

According to the state, the restaurant illegally occupies 1,986 square meters of land, while 500 square meters is occupied by the water sports complex at Chhota Chowpatty, a part of Girgaum Chowpatty.

“The land on which the restaurant stood is government land, and it has already been issued a closure notice. We want people to know the land is open for them,” said Mumbai city collector I A Kundan.

The collector’s office originally leased the land to the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) in 1994 at an annual rate of Re1 to promote water sports. The MTDC sub-let the facility to Drishtii Adventure Sports Pvt Ltd (partly owed by Shetty), which manages H2O, in 2001.

The irregularities emerged after Amit Maru, a Mahalaxmi resident, complained that the restaurant had flouted Coastal Regulation Zone-I rules.