KOLKATA: KMC on Friday could finally start the demolition of the illegal six-storey building on Christopher Road that had started tilting but not before having talks with the flat owners and convincing them that only the fifth floor would be pulled down for now.
Mayor Firhad Hakim said while he empathised with the flat owners, the building would have to go as it was unauthorised. But, he said, if the owners approached the KMC and applied for the state scheme for the homeless, the civic body would try to facilitate the construction of ‘Banglar Bari’ for them.
Taking a cue from Thursday’s demolition attempt, when the flat owners thwarted the drive and the civic workers retreated, KMC officials on Friday didn’t take any chance. They sought additional police deployment to ensure the workers could carry out the razing job without resistance. As instructed by the KMC buildings department seniors, the workers went straight to the terrace and started work on the fifth floor.
At the civic headquarters, the mayor said the civic body could not spare illegal buildings. “We are against the construction of unauthorised structures. We want the landowners to come forward and take advantage of the incentives that we offer for small plots,” said Hakim. About what awaited the future of the Christopher Road flat owners, Hakim said the KMC would offer them the chance to apply for the Banglar Bari scheme once the razing was completed. “If the flat owners are ready to take advantage of the housing scheme for the underprivileged, we will stand by them and take the necessary initiative for the construction of a house on the same land to accommodate the flat owners at the proposed housing,” Hakim said.But Hakim appealed to citizens not to rise to the bait from unscrupulous promoters and buy flats in buildings that did not have civic approval, however affordable the houses might seem. Hakim said instructions were being issued to snap electricity and water supply to buildings, where flat owners had been given possession by promoters without getting a completion certificate from the KMC. “According to a Supreme Court order, we are bound to disconnect essential services to buildings that have been constructed by flouting rules and flat owners given possession without a valid CC,” he said.
Expressing his apprehension about tilted buildings, the mayor said an initiative was being taken to enlist credible engineering firms to lift such houses to structural safety. “We will invite the engineering firms that have expertise in addressing tilted buildings. We will engage renowned structural engineers to check the credibility of these firms. Once the experts give a green signal, we will enlist the firms with our buildings department to offer affected owners the opportunity to correct the tilt in the buildings,” said a KMC buildings department official.
