Mumbai, Apr 7 (IANS): A day after the National Green Tribunal (West)'s verdict, the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation started demolishing around half-dozen illegal film shooting studios that had come up at Malad's picturesque coastal Madh, Erangal, Marve and Batti, here on Friday.

The action came after Bharatiya Janata Party's former MP Kirit Somaiya had exposed the issue in September 2022, alleging that illegal constructions worth Rs 1,000 crore had come up in the areas blatantly violating all norms.

"The NGT passed an order yesterday (April 6) that these studios are unauthorised, and they have misused permissions and built permanent structures instead of temporary studios for six months," Somaiya told media persons at the demolition site.

Launching a strong attack on the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), Somaiya alleged that this is the demolition of "Thackerays' unlawful monuments of corruption" and pointed accusing fingers at Shiv Sena (UBT) former Minister Aditya Thackeray and Congress ex-minister Aslam Sheikh, who is the local MLA, for giving the permissions.

Following Somaiya's complaint, the BMC Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal had ordered a probe into the issue and the inquiry report was submitted in February 2023.

The findings reportedly concluded that there were no illegalities, but only procedural shortcomings by half-a-dozen civic officials from various concerned departments in the BMC P-North Ward.

In 2021-2022, the BMC had received over four dozen complaints from locals alleging that several unsanctioned film shooting studios had mushroomed in areas that fell under the Coastal Regulatory Zone and No Development Zone, while Somaiya had also pinpointed some 20 such studios.

Ahead of the razing, a beaming Somaiya and his supporters reached the area this morning, carrying a symbolic hammer and axe, 'surveyed' the site with some purported civic officials, made 'thumbsup' signs and oversaw the bulldozing of the standing studios to rubble.