PUNE, Oct 2: Social activist Arvind Ghatpande has served a legal notice to Minister of State for Urban Development Ravindra Mane, challenging his authority to instruct the Pune Municipal Corporation to refrain from demolishing the unauthorised portion of hotel Holiday Inn.Ghatpande has sought explanation from Mane how the Urban Development Ministry could stay the decision of a lower court, which had allowed the corporation to pull down 5000 square feet illegal structure of the hotel. Ghatpande has warned that he would file a public interest litigation in the Bombay High Court against Mane and the hotel if Mane failed to explain his position.Pointing out that the hotel had lost the suit filed against the PMC's notice, Ghatpande says the hotel had approached the ministry instead of an appellate court. Ghatpande alleges that the hotel did so with mala fide intention as the ``ministry was always ready to bail out people, who do illegal activities by violating the Bombay Provinces Municipal Corporation Act.''The notice says the hotel had constructed its godown, swimming pool, hall, beauty parlour, toilet, gymnasium, health club and dance hall on the open space marked on the premises. Stating that the ministry had restrained the corporation from demolishing illegal structures, the notice says the ministry had no power to grant it. It was illegal and arbitrary, he said.Narrating his ``bitter experience'' with Poona Coffee House case, the notice says the then advocate general of the State had given an oral assurance in the court, which never came into effect for over 12 years. The notice has hoped that the same would not happen in the case of Holiday Inn.
