Mumbai can finally have legal rooftop eateries

Mumbai: Restaurants in the city can now get the license to serve food at their rooftop premises. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Thursday issued a circular, permitting restaurants to operate on their terraces.

Major terms and conditions of rooftop policy say that restaurants can be allowed on the terraces of only those buildings, which are commercial mall buildings or residential hotels having eateries and lodging services available, ensuring that it will not cause any nuisance to the occupants.

No cooking /preparation of eatables shall be allowed on the terrace using LPG or open flame. Only ready to eat food will be served to the customers sitting there. The no-objection certificate (NOC) from the chief fire officer has also been made mandatory. There should not be any residential building up 10 meters from the terrace of the rooftop restaurant and the licensee shall ensure proper safety and security measures. “The policy will be implemented from Thursday across the city,” said a senior civic official.

The rooftop policy had become a matter of prestige for Shiv Sena, as it is the brainchild of Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackery. He had tweeted recently that rooftop restaurants policy would soon be approved. Facing a stiff opposition from parties like BJP and Congress, Sena even tried to appease them by revising the policy.

However, BJP is still sceptical about the policy. “Our major concern is that the rooftop restaurants should not cause any inconvenience to local residents. They have kept a distance of 10 metres from the residential building, which is still insufficient,” said BJP group leader Manoj Kotak.

The hotel industry has expressed happiness saying the policy will promote tourism in the city. “The rooftop policy will encourage tourism. Sky Bars and Roof-top Cafes are an emerging trend across the world and Mumbai despite being the commercial capital of India lacked the policy for allowing these activities,” said Dilip Datwani, president, Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India. 

Adarsh Shetty, president, Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association said, “Finally rooftop restaurant policy has come through. We had been requesting for the same for years now.”