Bombay HC order on floating hotel, jetty next week

Mumbai: The Bombay high court will pronounce its order on Monday pertaining to the petition filed by Rashmi Developments Pvt. Ltd, a private builder who is seeking permission to construct a floating hotel and a jetty near Nariman Point in South Mumbai. The petitioner has challenged the denial of permission by BMC and high court appointed committee.  

The petitioner claims that the proposed project already has No Objection Certificates (NOCs) from the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation, the Western Naval Command, the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority, and the Coast Guard. However, in May, last year, the court appointed a three-member committee, — the Mumbai police commissioner, the commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, and the chairperson of the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC), all of whom rejected the proposal.

The committee rejected the proposal and forwarded its decision to the BMC saying that the hotel was meant to be a tourist attraction and consequently would lead to much more vehicular movement in the area, thus, adding to the existing traffic woes.

It also said that since the proposed site for the jetty the end of the Marine Drive promenade, near the NCPA came under the jurisdiction of the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority, the latter's permission must also be taken.

On Friday, the BMC told  the HC that following the committee's decision, the BMC too refused to grant permission for the project.The committee was constituted by the High Court in 2015 to regulate any temporary or permanent construction along the Marine Drive promenade. The developer, however, has argued that the committee's decision can't be binding since it was constituted by HC without any statutory provision.

A division bench comprised of Justice AS Oka who was presiding over the case however, observed that the issue of traffic was a crucial one, and that the court will have to consider it before passing any orders.