3 months ago, the civic body had asked the fast-food joint to shift location; Now it goes out of the way to help Amar Juice Center
What happens when a juice center comes in the way of a hospital expansion? No marks for guessing. The former will have to give way to the latter. In fact, that's what the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) did three months ago in the case of Cooper Hospital and Amar Juice Center. However, the BMC has now taken a U-turn, and has decided to gift away the prime space meant for the Cooper's expansion to the juice center. Three months ago, the BMC had said that the fast-food joint should move out of the hospital premises.
According to local BJP legislator Ameet Satam, BMC chief Ajoy Mehta has approved a plan, under which the eatery will remain in the hospital premise and the expansion of the hospital will be cut marginally. This move has come as a major setback for local residents who have been fighting against the fast food joint for several years, complaining of the nuisance it creates, especially late in the night. Satam has now written to Mehta, demanding an Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) probe into the issue. "The special cell of the BMC's building proposal department and the law department have played mischief. We have given away 450 sq ft of public land to this commercial establishment forever. The BMC's own architect had said that the stalls were causing a hindrance to the hospital's entrance. Now the same plans have been changed to accommodate the juice center," Satam said in his letter.
The BMC had, in July, decided to move the juice center from its current location. BMC officials had said that the juice center, which is adjacent to the hospital, was obstructing the access road to the medical college attached to the hospital. BMC architect Shashi Prabhu, who designed the expansion plan, had written to the civic body pointing out that the juice center would have to be relocated. The BMC is to begin construction of the Hinduridaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Medical College at the site. "Its is clear that BMC officials have connived with the owners of the juice center. The BMC must file a review petition against the 2009 Bombay High Court (HC) order in favour of the juice center," Satam added.
The owners of the juice center have maintained that there are no residences nearby and the authorities had given them permission. "Our eatery is outside Cooper Hospital. People come to the hospital even late at night. Where can they buy water bottle or food? We just offer fast food; we are not creating problems. We have a HC order in our favour," owner Dinesh Joshi had said.
While Mehta was not available for comment, BMC officials said that the plans were tweaked due to an HC order. "If we shift the juice center, it may lead to contempt of court. The order said that we should not shift the juice center. So, we computed the space used by them in the FSI of hospital's expansion plan," said a senior civic official.
Satam said that the BMC had violated norms by not taking the approval of the civic improvement committee or the general body before deciding on giving away the land to the juice center.
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