Kolkata: In a bid to crack down on illegal constructions within the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) area, the state government is likely to pass an amendment Bill during the budget session that is scheduled to start on Monday.
Presently, tackling the issue of illegal construction has become a priority for the civic body which deals with several of such cases every day. A KMC official said that the issue has become even more relevant with the city witnessing a boom in real estate. Even though the civic body has simplified the rules to make it easy for obtaining sanction, rampant illegal constructions have continued.
It is now learnt that an amendment Bill is scheduled to be passed in the Assembly during the upcoming budget session. The KMC had earlier set up a committee to decide on how the rules can be amended and what should be the necessary changes.
Such a proposal, after being finalized, was passed in the member mayor in council meeting (MMIC).
Once the amendment is passed in the Assembly it would then go to the Governor for his assent and would go on to become a law once approved by him.
It was learnt that there were no changes made to the building rules of the KMC for the last several years. The last time a change was made was during the Left Front government. However, new challenges have emerged over the years and which needs to be tackled keeping in mind the present-day situation. It was learnt that the amendment will also seek to plug the loopholes in the existing rules which are being exploited.
Mayor Firhad Hakim had recently said that serving notices under Section 401 is not helping at all. He had assured that he would consult the KMC law department and determine if an amendment can be made to the Act to allow Kolkata Municipal Corporation to first serve a warning and then demolish the illegally constructed portions within 15 days.