KOLKATA: The KMC buildings department on Tuesday served notices to promoters of six illegal buildings that are located close to the collapsed building.
Among these buildings in Azhar Molla Bagan, one is tilting and needs to be razed to prevent another tragedy, said a KMC buildings department official. They are looking for three other buildings in the vicinity that have tilted as well. The fate of the other buildings will be decided after a hearing at the civic headquarters later this week.
“We will call the promoters to the civic headquarters and they will need to explain the reasons behind engaging in illegal construction. The hearing officer may ask for demolition of certain portions of the buildings that are unsafe. If the promoters fail to comply with the order, our demolition teams will be sent to do the job,” said a KMC buildings department official.
The building that has tilted will have to be razed, the official said, adding that it would have to be vacated before the demolition is carried out.
With a tragedy in the neighbourhood and a demolition hammer threatening to rob them of the shelter, home truths have come closer for buyers of illegal flats in the Garden Reach area. Those who had bought flats at cheaper rates from local promoters are now cursing their luck fearing either demolition or long-term damage to their homes because of the buildings leaning against one another.
“I had bought this 600 square feet home for Rs 8.4 lakhs, paying the entire amount in cash after selling off a property in my village. I knew the building was illegal but where else could I have got a flat at such a cheap price. If KMC goes on inspecting buildings and demolish the illegal ones, I don’t know what will happen to my family,” said a resident of a building on Azhar Mulla Road, next to Haribabu Pally Road where the crash had happened early on Monday.
Equally concerned was another 50-year-old woman who lived with his husband, three kids and mother-in-law at another flat in the area. “We can’t afford homes anywhere else at a cheaper rate. We moved here eight years ago and since then, our building has tilted towards the next building. The roofs of the two buildings have touched. I wasn’t much worried earlier as many buildings in this area are built in a similar fashion but after the collapse, I am really worried,” said the woman.
TOI had written on Tuesday how the ‘cottage industry’ of illegal buildings in the Garden Reach-Metiabruz belt thrives on its own cash-economy. The G+4 building that collapsed on Monday had four flats on every floor. The promoter charged Rs 1,600 per square feet for each 500 sqft, two-bedroom flat with a toilet and a small kitchen. The price of these flats is pegged at Rs 8 lakh. But there is a catch — the buildings are always bought and sold in cash, leaving no trail.
Mayor Firhad Hakim on Tuesday repeated the zero-tolerance stance on illegal buildings. “We have helplessly watched the tragedy in Garden Reach. But we will no longer wait for a replay. Mushrooming of illegal buildings due to lack of supervision will not be tolerated,” said Hakim.
Builders of the collapsed multi-storey building in Kolkata’s Garden Reach area had flouted several rules of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) to erect a new building which led to the disaster, a senior official said on Monday.
