Garden Reach: KMC serves notices ‘to illegal constructions’

Kolkata: With nine deaths in the incident of collapse of an illegal construction in the Garden Reach area, teams of Kolkata Municipal Corporation’s (KMC) building department have launched a survey to identify more such properties while it is learnt to have served notices against six “unauthorised constructions” in the area.

On Monday, Mayor Firhad Hakim instructed its building department to ascertain the cause of the collapse and conduct a survey to determine the number of illegal constructions within the civic body area so that action can be taken against these. On Tuesday, it was learnt that KMC has served notices to six unauthorised buildings, among which some have partially unauthorised constructions while the rest are completely illegal.

The hearing for these would begin this week. If these buildings qualify for structural fitness certificates, then it may be given a legal status. In a Millennium Post report published on March 19, 2024, it was pointed out that in March 2023 a building in ward 134 leaned towards another, triggering panic among the residents in Garden Reach.

Locals had alleged that both buildings were illegally constructed without any sanction from the KMC but complaints fell on deaf ears. Now, the KMC is learnt to have given instructions to execute a structural examination of the said building and submit a report.

The Mayor on Tuesday said: “Illegal constructions have become a social evil. I am trying my best to put an end to it. We need to act when the foundation work for the construction is afoot and not when the building is completed and people are moved in. So far, we have demolished 25 such constructions in the Garden Reach area itself.” Locals in ward 134 said that there are more than 200 such illegal constructions in Garden Reach but they are threatened by promoters to remain silent.”

Further, the Borough executive engineers have been again told to keep track of constructions in the wards in their respective boroughs and they will be helped by the ward officials in identifying illegal constructions. Every day surveys need to be made to keep a strict vigil. Hakim reiterated on Tuesday that councillors cannot be held responsible for illegal constructions and that it is the duty of the building department to keep a strict vigil. However, with a photograph of Shams Iqbal, the councillor of ward 134 where the building collapsed, and the accused promoter Md Wasim, doing rounds, KMC deputy mayor Atin Ghosh told the media that councillors, especially when it is known that they are acquainted with the concerned promoter, cannot evade responsibility if an illegal construction comes up in their ward. He said: “KMC certainly has a moral responsibility in the wake of this tragedy. An inquiry committee is likely to be formed to probe this incident.”