Navi Mumbai Paan Shop Ban Ordered Within 50 Metres of Schools
Navi Mumbai Municipal Commissioner Dr Kailas Shinde has directed municipal officials to ensure that no paan shop operates within 50 metres of schools and colleges, while ordering coordinated enforcement with educational institutions and the police.
The directive was issued during a review meeting on Friday covering civic services and enforcement across Navi Mumbai. Officials were instructed to work with school principals and college authorities to maintain continued action around educational campuses. The commissioner said the focus was necessary amid concerns about rising substance use among students, according to the report of the meeting.
The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation has also been directed to begin a special drive to clear obstructions from footpaths before Ganeshotsav. Authorised street vendors are to be shifted to alternative locations, while unauthorised vendors will face removal action. Each ward office has been asked to prepare an enforcement plan, appoint teams and set priorities so that the action continues regularly rather than being limited to a one-time campaign.
The instructions identify footpaths near schools, hospitals, railway stations and markets as priority areas. The civic administration said these locations would receive particular attention during the encroachment drive. Police assistance has been sought for enforcement linked to paan shops near educational institutions and for action against suspected drug sales and use around railway stations.
The commissioner also ordered separate night teams to act against unauthorised food carts. Municipal officials have received complaints that food carts remain on roads from the evening until midnight after daytime enforcement operations have ended. The civic body has been instructed to examine action aimed at preventing the sale of food on roads after 11 p.m., while daily enforcement against unauthorised vendors is to continue.
The review meeting covered several other municipal concerns. Officials were asked to address the growing number of homeless people and its reported effects on cleanliness and city planning. A campaign to remove abandoned vehicles from roads and railway station parking areas was also ordered, with police cooperation. The vehicles were described as contributing to poor sanitation in public spaces.
Ahead of Ganeshotsav, the meeting also reviewed pothole-free roads, pruning of trees along procession and immersion routes, arrangements for artificial ponds, street lighting and action against unauthorised banners. The commissioner directed officials to take up these works immediately.
The meeting was attended by Additional Commissioner Dr Rahul Gethe, City Engineer Shirish Ardawad, deputy municipal commissioners, ward officials, executive engineers, police representatives and officials from the City and Industrial Development Corporation’s encroachment control department. The civic administration’s next steps include preparing ward-level enforcement plans, assigning teams and beginning the special drives across identified locations.
