Sagar
Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, June 12: Promoters of illegal buildings in the capital city do not seem to have much to worry about, with the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) sitting on the files of 146 commercial buildings and 583 residential apartments spread over town.
Some of these buildings have been standing tall since as far back as 1994.
The BDA court, which had been constituted under the Orissa Development Authorities (ODA) Act, 1982, had completed hearing with regard to all the 146 commercial structures over time one after another by August 2015 and passed demolition orders for portions of the buildings. Some of these orders were passed many years ago. However, of the several buildings that have been marked for demolition over time, only three were razed — one in 2008 and two in 2009.
Builders of 41 of the remaining 143 commercial buildings had moved higher courts. In at least 15 of these cases, the builders have applied for an amnesty scheme to regularise their structure by paying a fine.
Last year in August, housing and urban development minister Pushpendra Singhdeo had said in the Assembly that BDA had lodged cases against 423 builders in the last decade. The minister had also assured that the demolition will be done soon. However, none of the orders have been executed till date though almost a year has passed.
As many as 95 per cent of the cases of the 583 residential apartments are pending before the BDA court and higher courts. “Several of them have moved higher courts and the matter is sub judice,” said enforcement wing officer Pramod Kumar Rath.
“Our hands are tied. If a day goes by after the demolition order has been passed and the order has not been executed, the builders would move against it in higher courts. The procedure (of BDA getting a favourable order) is so time consuming that though we keep registering cases against illegal structures regularly, the cases get stuck in courts,” the officer said.
Rath, however, kept mum when asked why the building regulator did not execute demolition orders in cases where no appeal was filed and suggested that BDA vice-chairman Kirshan Kumar be asked the question. However, Kumar was not available to answer the question, with his office saying that the vice-chairman has a packed schedule for the week.
Administrative section officer Madhumita Rath said violators whose buildings have been demolished reconstruct the structures as the organisation does not have the manpower to keep an eye on the sites where illegal structures have been demolished. “When an order is passed, we demolish the structure and move on to the next,” she said.
Most of the illegal structures, both residential and commercial, are concentrated in areas such Jaydev Vihar, Sahid Nagar, Laxmisagar, Chandrasekharpur, Goutam Nagar, Satya Nagar, Kharvel Nagar, Patia, Kalarahnga and Madhusudan Nagar.
The Comptroller and Auditor General had in its 2014 report for the social sector observed that the “BDA’s mechanism to match compliance to conditions imposed in building plan approval letters was poor.”
“BDA accorded permission in favour of a builder for construction of multi-storey buildings on plot 51 and 364 of Goutam Nagar mouza with built up area of 6,70,532 square feet,” the CAG observed in the same report.
The CAG noted in its 2012 report that BDA failed to bring down 84 illegal structures from 2001 to 2011 as a result of the inaction of its enforcement wing.
A year ago, some of these areas were brought under the jurisdiction of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC). BDA officials now often resort to the excuse that it is not just them who should be demolishing the buildings.
However, BMC officials countered this. “We have been given only those areas where small vendors or slum dwellers have occupied government land. We often take up demolition drives in these areas. However, the high-rise buildings still fall in BDA’s jurisdiction,” a BMC official said on condition of anonymity.
Regulation 7 of the Planning and Building Standard Regulations (PBSR), 2008, stipulates that security deposits collected from builders are to be retained till the completion certificate is awarded and the deposit will be forfeited if constructions do not match the approved building plan.
In its 2014 social sector report, the CAG noted that two buildings — one in Govinda Prasad village and another in Andharua village — were constructed in contravention to the approved plan and meriting forfeiture of the security deposits. “However, the security deposits in the form of bank guarantees of `2.76 lakh were allowed to expire without renewal though completion certificates were not issued,” the CAG noted.
