Beer bars, toddy shops owe BMC a Rs50-lakh drink

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is yet to recover a whopping Rs50 lakh as ground rent from beer bars, toddy shops and permit rooms running on municipal lease.

The amount, accumulated over the last two years, assumes significance after the civic body formulated a policy to charge extra ground rent for permit room, beer bar and toddy shops a decade ago.

It is now considering to increase the rates 10 times for which the proposal is awaiting a final nod from a civic committee.

At least 1,360 plots in the city have been leased out. Information, obtained by DNA under the Right to Information Act, clearly showed that the department had not granted a single license in the last two years to open beer bar or toddy shop.

However, it managed to recover Rs 23 lakh as ground rent from the shops in the last two years. Estate department officials said recovering the amount was the responsibility of the local ward offices.

“It is their responsibility. And in any case we impose a penalty of 18 per cent interest on defaulters,” said Prakash Thorat, assistant commissioner, estate department.