Illegal eateries in Camp area cross the deadline and so this is what the PCB plans to do

Pune: Pune Cantonment Board (PCB) residents will have to bear with eateries and restaurants functioning from basements and parking lots as the board administration has not taken concrete steps to cancel their trade licences. The citizens had complained to the PCB administration that the parking space had been illegally utilised for commerical purposes leading to congestion on important roads like MG road, East Street and Dastur Meher road. The board members had resolved to cancel their trade licenses during a GB in Feb and set the deadline of March 31 asking them to evict them as they had not adhered to fire safety norms. The administration had been opined to stop issuing trade licences to the such establishments.

PCB Health Department Chief Vinayak Salaskar when contacted said that the board is mulling the possibility of prosecuting as many as fifteen such outlets. “We cannot cancel their licences as of now and can only prosecute them. Besides, we can also issue notices to the establishments under the cantonment act,” he added. The health department had made a detailed report on the establisment highlighting that not only have they done unauthorised construction but have even encroached on Cantonment land. The eatery owners on their part had termed the move as being selective in nature where the establishments were being targetted by the then elected representatives for their self interests.