Mumbai: BMC demolishes two ‘illegal studios’ at Madh Island

The BMC has started demolishing two studios at Madh in Malad a Coastal Regulation Zone CRZ for allegedly operating without proper permissionsThe issue was highlighted by Bharatiya Janata Party BJP leader Kirit Somaiya in the last week of July Though the politician alleged that there are 49 such studios a civic official said that there are only four in allIn a letter to the BMC chief on July 21 Somaiya claimed that some of the companies had constructed huge studios in the nodevelopment zone at Madh with the help of the collectorrsquos office District Coastal Zone Management Committee Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority MCZMA and fire brigadeSomaiya requested that the matter be investigated claiming that though permission had been given in the name of a temporary structure for six months it was extended several timesOn August 26 Somaiya himself visited the spot along with BMC officials and again demanded action following which the civic body initiated an investigationAlso Read Mumbai BMC orders inquiry into alleged illegal film studios in Madh Marve and MaladThe collector of Mumbai Suburban district sent a letter to the BMC on September 7 asking it to demolish Millionaire City Studio and Expression Studio at Madh as they lacked permits from the MCZMA The civic body then asked the studiosrsquo owners to demolish the structures themselves lest the ward office takes actionldquoAfter the collectorrsquos letter we issued notices to the studios and asked them to immediately tear down the structures The owners started the demolition on Tuesday and BMC staff was present to speed up the processrdquo said Kiran Dighavkar assistant commissioner of P North WardHe added that in all there were four errant studios out of which one Bhatia Studio had already been demolished by its owner Another studio Balaji had moved the court which has passed a stay orderSomaiya tweeted on Tuesday that the demolition of illegal studios in the MadhMarve area had started He alleged that former guardian ministers of Mumbai Aaditya Thackeray of the Shiv Sena and Aslam Shaikh of the Congress were involved in a lsquoRs 1000crore studio scamrsquoThe leader earlier alleged that permission was granted for temporary sheds for film sets in February 2021 However a permanent cementconcrete structure with commercial facilities came up in the area He alleged that despite an order in July 2021 directing to raze the structure no action was taken and the civic body gave an extension to the studio until October 20227Day in September when the collector asked BMC to raze structures