Ignore notice on building repair, land in jail

MUMBAI: The next time you ignore a warning from the BMC to get your building repaired, you may land up in jail. The metropolitan magistrate on Wednesday sentenced owners of two dilapidated buildings in Malad to three months' imprisonment.
The building owners had ignored a notice sent to them by the BMC. One of the owners also has to pay a fine of Rs 10,000, while the other will have to shell out Rs 63,500.
The local ward office had issued a notice to Vijay Gohil and Jayesh Gohil, asking them to either repair the dilapidated buildings or pull them down.The notice was issued under Section 354 of the BMC Act.
P-South Ward assistant commissioner Ashwin Khanolkar said, "This may be a precedent to others who ignore repeated warnings from us.'' The owners had not even bothered to reply to the notice, officials said. The BMC had then approached the local court.