Residents of Bangur Nagar in Goregaon West have alleged that the film studio where a fire broke out earlier this week was built illegally. Tuesday’s incident could have been avoided if our multiple complaints to the authorities over the past two years hadn’t fallen on deaf ears, they said.

Residents from Janki Ram CHSL, Jamuna Darshan CHS, Brijdham Nanddham CHS, Kaveri Mahima CHS and Krishna Leela CHS, had written to the BMC, police, collector and tahsildar alleging illegal construction of a turf and the film studio on the plot spread over 20,000 square metre. The plot falls under the Reserved for Open Space (ROS) category. “One cannot do concretisation and land-filling on an ROS plot, which needs to be protected to maintain the ecological system. And no commercial activity is permitted. The plot belongs to Laxmi Asbestos Products Ltd, which illegally allowed construction of the turf and the studio,” said Shreyansh Mithare, secretary of Janki Ram CHS.