KOLKATA: Mayor Firhad Hakim on Friday issued an ultimatum to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) buildings department officials, asking the department director general to take complaints of illegal constructions seriously or be prepared to face the consequences.
Hakim instructed the director general, Ujwal Sarkar, to monitor the activities of the buildings department officials in the borough.
This directive came after he received multiple calls from residents across the city during the interactive session, ‘Talk to Mayor’, complaining about the department’s inaction in stopping unauthorised constructions.
Though Hakim patiently listened to all complaints from various places such as Rajabazar, Alipore, and Bansdroni, he was infuriated after receiving a call from a Bosepukur (Kasba) resident. The resident complained about a building marked as illegal by the KMC buildings department. Despite having been served a stop-work notice, illegal construction had resumed there, the resident alleged. “Why should a citizen need to call me repeatedly about the repeated attempts to construct illegal buildings? The matter should end at the borough level. If the sub-assistant or the assistant engineer fails to act, the matter should be taken up by the higher-ups at the headquarters,” he said. In the Bosepukur case, the mayor wanted the DG (buildings) to investigate the matter and take punitive action against the errant official, or else he would be compelled to initiate action against the DG, which could even lead to suspension. “I want the DG to come forward and identify the errant official and take appropriate action, if it is proved that the official was at fault. If it is proved otherwise, I may need to apologise to the buildings department officials,” said Hakim.
Hakim on Friday stressed the need for rotational visits to all under-construction buildings in a particular area to thwart the attempts of a section of land sharks to indulge in the construction of illegal buildings. “The SAEs (sub-assistant engineers) should be taking regular rounds in their jurisdiction,” he said.
