Mumbai's Taj Hotel Issued Rs 22 Crore Notice Over 26/11 Security Barricades

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has issued a fresh demand notice to the iconic Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Colaba, directing the management to pay Rs 22.03 crore as occupation charges for public roads and footpaths.

The civic body's action targets the heavy security barricades, bollards, and planters erected around the hotel's perimeter in June 2009 following the 26/11 terror attacks.

Official records indicate that these counter-terrorism measures currently occupy roughly 800 square metres of public road and over 1100 square metres of public footpath.

While the previous standing committee had granted a 50 per cent concession on road charges and a full waiver on footpath fees in December 2020, citing national security needs, the BMC Administrator officially withdrew these benefits in May 2025.

Civic officials decided to scrap the concessions uniformly after the Bombay Stock Exchange, which faced a similar security levy, chose to clear its outstanding dues in full.

The secondary demand notice issued by the civic body warns that a heavy interest penalty of 15 per cent per month will be levied if the outstanding dues are not cleared immediately.

Representatives from the Taj management are holding talks with senior civic officials, arguing that the security barriers are a vital public safety necessity rather than a commercial encroachment and should remain exempt from commercial fees.