Ahead of wedding season, NMC rings alarm bells for farmhouses

Book your wedding venue much in advance this year to avoid last-minute disappointment as there might be a paucity of farmhouses, motels and resorts this wedding season. The North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NMC) has decided to begin a crackdown on farmhouses, motels and resorts hosting weddings without having licences to do so and impose hefty ‘misuse charges’ on them. 

The corporation has also decided to initiate stringent actions against motels that allow marriage functions in their basement putting the lives of people at risk.In NMC area, there are 601 authorised farmhouses, resorts and motels. Only 47 of them have permission to host weddings. 

“Most of farmhouses and resorts in Civil lines and Narela zones have been hosting marriages. Though a few of them have permission from the civic body to rent out the properties for marriage purposes, majority of them are holding the functions illegally and minting the money. In worse cases, motels have been renting out their basement to hold marriage function putting the lives of people at risk,” the NMC officials informed the Standing Committee at a meeting on Wednesday.

Officials in South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) also said that action will be taken against farmhouses and motels holding marriage functions without permission. 

While a host of farmhouses are running illegally, scores of wedding venues are making nearby roads a nightmare for commuters. The NMC, in its report, said that Civil lines zone has 47 farmhouses while Narela zone has 519. The report said that the civic body had generated revenue of `1.1 crore in 2012-13, which reduced to `68 lakh in 2014-15. 

The corporation claimed to have served notices to 104 farmhouses but remained clueless on action taken against them.With the Capital’s farmhouses becoming the NCR’s marriage hotspot, the NMC will take strong note of the major traffic problems and civic woes created by marriages in farmhouses. 

“The parking needs of guests of wedding functions will also have to be accommodated within the farmland,” said MP Bhardwaj, Chairman of Standing Committee of north MCD.