72 illegal banquet halls to be razed by MCG
Gururgam: The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram has taken strict cognisance of illegal banquet halls operating in the city. In a recent meeting held over the issue, the MCG commissioner has directed its officials will go ahead and raze 72 such illegal halls.
Most of these halls are located around the Airforce ammunition depot where the Punjab and Haryana High court has also stated that establishments located around 300 metres should be razed.
With weddings being a viable business, these banquet halls for long have been earning huge profits and have gained popularity as alternatives compared to farmhouses in South and South-West Delhi that are more expensive.
With the owners of these banquets halls not paying the property tax, the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram has served them warning by issuing the notices. A major factor for the halls to not pay the taxes is also cited of it being illegal.
According to sources, more than 90 per cent for the halls does not meet the guidelines of the municipal body. Moreover, most of these halls have come up at the 900-metre restricted zone of the Indian Airforce ammunition depot.
Some of the major rules which the marriage halls have to comply with are being located at the main road which is 18 metre and the service road being 12 metres wide. It should be spread in the area of minimum one acre. The ground floor must be around 50 per cent of the construction area, the banquet hall must not be 21 metres long and the main entrance should be 1.8 metres lower than the building.
Recently an RTI had highlighted that there are 10 banquet halls that are functioning within 300 metres distance of Airforce ammunition depot that is functioning without fire NOC.
Moreover, the information further reveals that there are are 34 illegal banquet halls that are functioning within 900 metres around the defence zone where a large number of explosives are stored and could lead to a major tragedy. Meanwhile, most of the activists have claimed that despite repeated announcements the public agency has not taken any action against these halls.
