Mumbai’s iconic Shanmukhananda Hall served notice over illegal construction

One of the most iconic cultural venues in the city, Shanmukhananda Hall, has reportedly been served notice by the civic body for carrying out unauthorized construction within its premises.

With a capacity of over 2,760, Shanmukhananda Hall is among the biggest venues in Asia and the most prominent one in the country. Established in 1952 at Mumbai’s King’s Circle area, the hall has a known for hosting some of the biggest cultural events in the city.

The hall was served notice from BMC’s F/ North Ward, following a complaint filed by Gopkumar Pillai, who alleged that the hall’s committee members had flouted norms for commercial gains. He further stated that the members had endangered lives by constructing illegal structures and encroaching open spaces within the hall.

The notice, dated July 22, was served by assistant engineer Rajesh Merai to V. Shankar (President) NS Sundar Rajan (Secretary) and S Ganesh (Treasurer) of Shanmukhananda Fine Arts and Sangeetha Sabha. In the notice, the civic body has sought an explanation regarding the construction of certain units, which weren’t included in the hall’s original plan submitted at the time of redevelopment.

The sabha’s president V. Shankar, however, refuted the allegations and said that no illegal constructions have been made in the premises. Any construction that was not a part of the original plan is also in the process of getting regularized by the BMC.

Shankar also added that Pillai had been ‘blacklisted’ by the committee, because of which he chose to approach the civic body and file a complaint.