Notice to 60 Gurgaon banquet halls running illegally

The Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) has issued notices to over 60 banquet hall running here without necessary permission and clearances, an official said Tuesday.

The move came a RTI query filed by an activist J.S. Walia revealed that only three banquet hall owners in the MCG area had a legal permission to operate them.

More than 200 banquet halls are operational in Gurgaon, and nearly 100 of them fall under the MCG's jurisdiction.

"Almost all the banquet halls, operating for years now, were functioning on the nexus between MCG officials and owners. The nexus caused losses of millions of rupees to the Haryana government," a MCG official, who did not wish to be named, told IANS.

"Banquet halls were operated without obtaining trade licenses and NOCs (no-objection certificates) from the fire department. Some other rules were also violated. Too many of them were erected within the prohibited limit of 900 meters around an ammunition depot," he said.

The MCG has now issued notices to offenders to obtain proper license within 60 days or face action.