KMC forms demolition team to curb unauthorised constructions in city

Kolkata: In a bid to ensure better handling of construction/demolition of buildings, Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has formed a central squad demolition team for razing to ground the unauthorized constructions.

It was learnt that such a decision comes in the wake of KMC being informed that on several occasions the engineers face threats while tackling unauthorised constructions.

Mayor Firhad Hakim has said that the demolition team will be accompanied by police from Lalbazar headquarters. The team will be based out of the KMC headquarters.

Further, the civic body has decided that the illegal constructions where stop work notices will be served, a security guard will be posted for vigilance. The measure was introduced during the Left Front government rule by its then Mayor Bikashranjan Bhattacharya. Such a practice was later stopped by the former mayor Sovan Chatterjee but it will now be resumed again.

“The guards will be provided by private agencies. The cost of posting the guards will be recovered from the developers of the building,” said Hakim. It is expected that the presence of security guards would deter further construction in structures where the KMC had served a stop-work notice. The guards posted would inform the KMC in case the construction continued despite the notice.