Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has launched a special drive to demolish buildings that are extremely insecure and on the verge of collapse.
The KMC buildings department will exercise its special power to raze dilapidated buildings that pose a threat to its residents as well as pedestrians. The civic body is also planning to take help of cops in the drive.
The civic brass will use an express order, which the municipal commissioner is entrusted to issue under section 411 (4) of the KMC buildings rule and which will enable the civic body to demolish any insecure parts of an old dilapidated building that have gone beyond the scope of repair.
To begin with, the KMC buildings department has identified 129 highly insecure buildings out of a total 3,200 listed insecure buildings located under boroughs I to IX. However, around 80% of these buildings are century-old and located in five boroughs – II, IV, V, VI and VII – said a KMC senior official.
According to the official, the civic body was focusing on dozens of age-old rickety buildings in areas such as Cossipore, Burtolla, Burrabazar, Rabindra Sarani, Pathuriaghata, Beadon Street, Chittaranjan Avenue, College Street, Amherst Street, Ripon Street, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road, Park Circus, Topsia and Ballygunge.
The KMC buildings department had started a survey on the city’s Grade I hazardous buildings three months ago. According to records in the buildings department, majority of city’s insecure buildings or parts of these buildings collapse during every monsoon. The civic body’s buildings department officials were extremely alarmed after parts of three insecure buildings collapsed in three different parts of the city on Sunday.
An official reminded that the civic body had recorded the collapse of no less than 30 unsafe buildings last year which had killed several residents and pedestrians.
“Monsoon is about to set in and we are keeping our fingers crossed like previous years to think about the fate of the insecure buildings. We have launched a drive to raze some of the most hazardous buildings to save its residents and the public in general. Hope this year we will be able to prevent casualties due to collapse of dilapidated buildings,” said a civic official.
Apart from razing the most insecure buildings, the KMC buildings department is also offering a scope to the owners for reconstruction. According to an official, under section 412 (A), the civic body will offer extra floor area ratio to owners of dilapidated buildings to enable him/her to accommodate the existing tenants.