Reining in hotels: Big shots likely to work out strategyPune Municipal Commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad and Additional Municipal Commissioner Deepak Kapoor are likely to take up the issue of violation of development control(DC) rules by the hoteliers with Police Commissioner K K Kashyap on Tuesday.Both the commissioners are expected to work out a strategy so that hoteliers could be stopped from using parking space for business purposes and make the margin space available for parking of vehicles. Sources said Kashyap and Gaikwad would also review the progress of several complaints filed by the PMC under section 52 and 53 of Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act (MRTP) against the erring hoteliers.Gaikwad on Monday reiterated that administration would take stringent action against those hoteliers who would violate DC rules. Talking to media persons, Gaikwad said he had taken serious note of those hotels, which were running business either without obtaining a licence from the municipal corporation or after cancelation of the licence. Gaikwad said he would try to get the required cooperation from Food and Drugs Administration and police to make the drive more effective.Meanwhile, Deccan Gymkhana police inspector Ram Kondhalkar today said the police had filed chargesheets in seven complaints by the PMC. Kondhalkar said the hotel owners were even arrested by the police and were released on bail. Meanwhile, in message faxed to the police commissioner, the Express Citizens' Forum, has urged him to expedite investigations into all the complaints filed by the civic body ``as strict enforcement of offstreet parking rules will help reduce the incidence of on-street parking at the cost of carriageway and thus greatly help the police themselves in effective traffic management.''``You have personally taken exemplary initiative in providing relief to road mishap victims and I am sure you will very favourably respond,'' the forum coordinator said in the message.
