Grant licence to dance bars by March 15: SC to Maha govt

MUMBAI: Owners of all 350 dance bars in the city vowed to get their licences back and said they would apply for renewal in three days after meeting the conditions modified by the Supreme Court on Wednesday.They expect the state government to follow the SC directive of granting them the licences within 10 days. But the cloud of uncertainty still hangs over the renewal of Mumbai’s nightlife in a fortnight, as Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has vowed to come up with a law to restrict “obscenity” in dance bars.The apex court does not want the state to label dance as obscenity as it is an art form, and has specifically asked the government not to frame any new conditions.Bar owners eyeing dance bar licences reiterated they are willing to abide by rules if they were not too draconian. For instance, Bharat Thakur, president of the dance bars association affiliated to Ahar, a restauranteurs’ body, said it has been agreed to have a railing around the front of the dais to define the area for dancers. There will also be a distance of 5ft between the partition and the customers’ seating area, he said. Initially, the state had wanted a non-removable partition of 3ft around the entire stage.Thakur added that hoteliers will ensure there is no showering of currency notes or coins on performers on stage or anywhere on the premises, as prescribed by the state.Ahar president Adarsh Shetty had also objected to the condition that no alteration to the premises could be done without police permission, pointing out that such permissions are the BMC’s jurisdiction. “Now, it has been agreed that permission of the competent authority is enough,” said Thakur.Hoteliers have welcomed SC’s intervention in modifying some of the government’s ‘regressive conditions’.