On November 18, The High Court of Rajasthan has directed the government to shut all the rooftop restaurants operating in pink city and it’s multi-storey buildings. The High Court has clearly stated that the rooftop restaurants were illegal as they have not been issued the no objection certificate (NOC) as per the orders issued by the self-governing department of the government of Rajasthan.
Not just this, the court has asked the government to shut down the rooftop eating places irrespective of the fact that they have the NOC. The high court has directed the government to submit a compliance report on December 18.
All these directions were issued by the court on a petition filed by Kafia Restaurant administration.
There are more than 170 rooftop restaurants operating in pink city alone. Out of which majority of them don’t have the mandatory permissions and NOC.
The petitioners have argued that these rooftop restaurants were not illegal as the JMC had granted permission for business activities up to the eighth floor of a building.
Justice Indrajit Mahanty and Justice Mahendra Goyal both of them referred to an order issued by the self-governing department in January 2018 which clearly stated that any type of business activity is not permitted on the rooftop.
The high court mentioned that the JMC permission was in line with the order and therefore the operation of any rooftop restaurant was illegal. To which the JMC officials said that a drive against rooftop restaurants in Jaipur will be launched from November 19th and all the operating restaurants will be closed.
A senior JMC officer said, “We are asking the zonal commissioners to issue notices to rooftop restaurants and bars and ensure compliance within seven days.”
