The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) buildings department will launch a special drive against illegal construction of buildings from Monday following multiple complaints from different parts of the city.
According to a KMC buildings department official, taking advantage of the festivities, a section of real estate promoters has indulged in construction of illegal buildings. “Based on the complaints that we have received from citizens in specific neighbourhoods, we have planned a demolition drive from early next week,” said the civic official.
Sources in the KMC said the civic body would need to conduct a drive in several areas of Behala, Garden Reach-Kidderpore belt, Dum Dum-Cossipore neighbourhoods and areas off EM Bypass. However, a KMC buildings department senior official admitted the number of buildings constructed during the pujas this year was less than those in the previous years.
A KMC official wondered how some promoters took up construction of illegal floors especially when the civic brass had sounded an alert before the festive season.
“We had sent a borough-wise list to our buildings department officials and the cops of local police stations. Despite taking precautions, some promoters could not be prevented from taking up illegal constructions. We are probing into such cases of unauthorized constructions,” said a KMC buildings department official.
Civic officials said KMC could locate cases due to cooperation from citizens. “We need to bring down the number of illegal buildings to give relief to the flat buyers who often get cheated by a section of promoters. We had invited the citizens to lodge complaints to our buildings department or at the local police stations. While some citizens have made complaints, some inquired about the legal validity of a construction project as they wanted to know details about a housing project before investing,” said a KMC buildings department official.
