In all the cases, the basements meant for storage are being used for commercial purposes without change of user, the commissioner said. For the four hotels who had been served notices, he noted, the BMC would start the prosecution process immediately.

Law officer Anjana Chheda said The President had been served notice on June 3, while The Oberoi was issued a notice on August 9. She informed the BMC gives one month's notice period to the owners to stop use of the godown, but since they had not done so, the corporation would haveto prosecute them.

Chheda said action would be initiated under Section 53 of the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning (MRTP) Act, which reads `power to require removal of unauthorised development.' She added that for prosecution, the concerned ward officers will be required to file complaints with the respective police stations and then grant permission to the police stations to go ahead with the action.

However, the punishment is very minimal. If found guilty, the owners will face a jail term ranging from one month to three years and penalty between Rs 2,000 to 5,000. Still, if the owner continues to use the basement for purposes other than storage, the penalty would be Rs 200 per day.

Asked why the BMC had not initiated action for so many years against these hotels, Nalinakshan added he would not like to comment on his predecessors. He added the ward officers had been instructed to inspect the hotels in their ward and take action. He also appealed to citizens to complain about unauthorised constructionsor change of users.