The Pioneer  09.12.2010

Pioneer News Service | Puri

After a prolonged legal battle, finally the shops constructed by the Puri Municipality by encroaching the public main drain on the both sides of the Grand Road and allotted to businessmen were demolished by the district administration on Wednesday.

A senior lawyer of the Puri Bar Association Jogendra Dash initiated complaints in different legal forums that municipality had illegally constructed the shops on drains which were causing obstruction in free flow of the waste water in the drains and often over flowing spilling garbage on the Grand Road. As outcome of the complaints went unheeded, he knocked doors of the Odisha High Court in 2007. The High Court after hearing the complaint directed the district administration to remove the illegal constructions. Still nothing moved. Dash invoked the High Court’s contempt of court jurisdiction against the District Magistrate.

The High Court summoned personal appearance of the District Magistrate and directed him to carry out the order. The businessmen likely to be displaced moved their cause in the High Court which asked the District Magistrate to hear their plea. The District Magistrate on the Saturday heard their petition and finding no merit dismissed their plea while in strong words condemned the role of the civic body, which encouraged illegal encroachments of public drain.

As the civic council did not carry out the court order, RDC PK Mahapatra asked the district administration to remove the constructions over the drains. Five platoons of armed police led by Additional District Magistrate Prasanta Kumar Senapati conducted the demolition operation which would take a couple of days, said an official. Hundreds of men supported by two heavy earth mover machines were engaged in the operation. Fifty eight shop constructed over drains between Bagala Dharmshalla to Gundicha temple by the municipality and were allotted to vendors would be demolished.

The Times of India               09.12.2010

HDMC acts against building bylaw violators

HUBLI: Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) will soon launch a drive against constructions which have violated the building bylaws in the twin cities. Accordingly, HDMC is now considering action against commercial buildings which are not providing parking space as prescribed in the building plan. As a first step to send a strong message to the violators, the HDMC has demolished a portion of a commercial building on Gokul Road on Thursday, for not leaving space for parking.

A team of HDMC officers arrived at Gokul Road with an earth-moving equipment and demolished the portion of the building, which "allegedly" violated the bylaws by not leaving space for parking.

Speaking to `The Times of India', HDMC commissioner K V Trilokchandra said that they had served the notice to the owner of the building to remove the unauthorized structure so that parking space is vacated.

"With the owner not responding to the notice, we demolished the structure built on the place meant for parking. We will demolish all other structures which have came up on places reserved for parking," added.

Commercial complex or buildings which have violated the bylaws, especially with regard to parking, will be razed without any hesitation, he warned. The commissioner said that they have identified about 45 such structures in the city which have "allegedly" violated the bylaws. "We will soon launch a drive to bring down them," he added.