A committee comprising officials from the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, Kolkata Police, excise, and fire services will conduct hearings of three rooftop establishments that had moved Calcutta High Court challenging the civic body’s decision asking them to stop operations.
A KMC official said the hearings will be conducted by the end of this week or early next week.
The additional commissioner of the KMC will head the committee. The director-general (chief engineer) of the civic body’s building department is also a member of the committee.
The excise and fire services directorates will nominate their representatives to the panel.
“The commissioner of the KMC has set up a committee that will conduct the hearings. The additional commissioner of the KMC will head the committee. Copies of this order have been forwarded to the excise and fire services so that they can nominate members to the committee,” said the KMC official.
Another civic official said the date of the hearings had not been fixed, but the three establishments were likely to be heard by the end of this week or early next week.
Calcutta High Court had on May 6 asked the KMC to give the petitioners — three rooftop establishments and the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) — an opportunity to be heard before any coercive action was taken against them, unless there was any imminent threat to life and property.
The KMC had by then demolished portions of at least one rooftop bar in the city. The civic body simultaneously served notices to 83 establishments named in a list prepared by Kolkata Police.
Following the high court’s order, the KMC stalled further demolition and started preparations for hearings. The premises of the cafes, barsand restaurants were inspected, and reports, pointingout lapses and lack of statutory compliance, wereprepared.
Though the civic body had served “stop operations” notices to 83 cafes, bars and restaurants, it will conduct hearings for only three establishments that had petitioned the high court against the KMC’s actions.
KMC officials said hearings of only three rooftop establishments will be conducted immediately, complying with the directionsof the court. The other rooftop establishments that were served “stop operations” notices by the civic body must continue to adhere to thenotice.
“If they want to reopen their bars or restaurants, they have to appeal before the KMC. We will then consider conducting hearings,” said an official of the civic body.
Most of the 83 establishments operated from terraces of buildings, but some ofthem ran on lower floors. Civic body inspections showed some of the establishments onlower floors had convertedfire refuges into diningareas.
Sources in the KMC said during the hearings, the civic body would see if the owners of the establishments were given sanctioned building plans allowing construction on the terrace.
“We have not found anything in our records showing that they were given permission for construction on the terrace. If they have any documents, they can show them to us,” said a KMC official.
The crackdown on rooftop restaurants, bars and cafes came after mayor Firhad Hakim announced on May 2 that Calcutta’s rooftop cafes, lounges, bars and restaurants would be shut down.
“A terrace means a common area. No one can sell it,” Hakim had said. “Just like one can’t sell stairs or the common space in a building, a terrace can’t be sold.”
The announcement came a day after chief minister Mamata Banerjee visited the fire-ravaged Rituraj Hotel in central Calcutta, where 14 people died on April 29, and asked the business community to follow fire safety norms or face government action.
