BMC to amend act to demolish illegal shops

The Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC) is amending an act after the legal tangle it faced with the Sara Sahara building, said to be owned by mafia don Dawood.

The BMC faced flak because it could not demolish the outside structure since it was legal but they could not even touch the shops inside, which are illegal.

Mumbai's civic officials are under fire because they spared the Sara Sahara shopping complex. Instead, they demolished illegal structures around it.

Civic officials say they had no choice because technically the Sara Sahara building is legal. Since it has been built prior to 1962, before which any structures are considered legal.

But the shops that have come up inside Sara Sahara are illegal and allegedly cleared by corrupt municipal officials paid off by Dawood 's gang.

The corporation will change its laws so that if a building is legal and the shops inside are illegal, they can still demolish the shops inside the building.

Once the existing Mumbai Municipal Corporation Acts are changed, BMC can demolish the shops inside the Sara Sahara building, which functions as a grey market selling electronics, perfumes, jewellery and much more.

The new laws means that BMC can take action against almost 500 such cases where the outer structure is legal but the activities inside are illegal.

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