Mumbai: Maharashtra’s Food and Drug Administration is awaiting responses from five restaurants at Mumbai Cricket Association’s (MCA) Bandra-Kurla Complex premises to notices issued over third-party contracting arrangements, FDA commissioner Tukaram Mundhe said.
“MCA is registered as a food business operator, but the actual operator is somebody else, who does not have a licence or registration,” said Mundhe.
“When we issue a licence, we issue it to a particular entity, for a particular place and for a particular activity. So, if MCA took the licence and somebody else is working in its name, it is not allowed as per the law,” he said.
Mundhe said FDA had issued notices following a court order on whether a licence taken by MCA could be operated by another entity. “We have issued the notices and will issue the order accordingly,” he said.
The FDA had earlier suspended the licences of Permit Room, Pavilion, Mediterranean, Oriental Swing, and Clubway & Pastry Counter at the MCA facility over hygiene lapses and structural violations. The restaurants were being operated by third-party contractor Shirke Infrastructure, while their FBO licences were in MCA’s name.
The Bombay High Court’s intervention last month led the FDA to lift the suspension. Mundhe said the five establishments still faced violations related to the licensing arrangement. “They need to take a licence and (only) those who take a licence can operate,” he said. “We have issued notices as per the court directive, and will pass the order once a reply is received.”
