Dajeeling municipality: Fine replaces demolition plans - Illegal structures to be legalised

Darjeeling, Jan. 4.TT: The Dajeeling municipality today announced that illegal structures would be regularised after imposing a “hefty fine” on the owners of the buildings.

This comes despite chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s diktat to the municipal affairs minister, Firhad Hakim, last month that rampant regularisation of illegal structures should be stopped immediately. The instruction came after the December 9 AMRI fire in Calcutta, where more than 80 patients had died.

Amar Singh Rai, the chairperson of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha-run civic body, said here today: “We have started scrutinising all building plans and we have decided to levy hefty taxes on illegal structures. We think such a move will discourage residents from constructing illegal buildings.”

According to the West Bengal Municipality Act, constructions that exceed a height 11.5 meters are considered to be illegal in the Darjeeling hills.

In the past, the municipality had embarked on a drive to demolish illegal structures, but it could not be a success because of resistance from the owners.

Sources in the municipality pointed out that conducting demolition drives was tough and that was why the present municipal board had decided on the imposition of fine to tackle the mushrooming of high-rises in town. “The board has decided to be innovative and is of the opinion that the only way out was to levy fines at very high rates for the registration of these buildings,” a source said.

Rai did not specify the “hefty” amount that would be imposed. “The amount will be almost half the total construction cost of the illegal portions. So far, the municipality has identified 10 structures which breached the permissible limit,” the source added.

Asked about the chief minister’s instructions to the state municipal affairs minister, Rai said the law had to be changed to put an end to the regularisation of the illegal structures.

“The state municipal act has to be amended. Let that happen first then we will take a call. For now, we shall carry on with the imposition of the fine,” Rai said.

The act has a provision that allows civic bodies to hold a hearing for those who are accused of flouting the building rules. It is the desecration of the civic authorities to legalise the buildings against the payment of certain amount.

The Darjeeling municipality’s move to regularise the illegal structures would also go a long way in generating the much-needed revenue as the civic body is facing a major financial crisis.

Sources said the total outstanding dues had reached the Rs 6 crore mark as on March, 2011. “It is difficult for us to manage as we have to pool 20 per cent of the salaries of the 456 permanent staff members. Also, we do not get any financial help to pay the 193 daily wage workers who are paid Rs 75 a day,” an official of the municipality said.

The civic body collects around Rs 25 lakh a month as various forms of taxes, but its total expenditure on wages and salaries, gratuity to retired employees and a portion of the pension stands at Rs 1.02 crore. The sources said the municipality was running on a monthly deficit of Rs 20 lakh. “We need to collect around Rs 45 lakh a month to function normally,” said an official.

Rai today said the decision had been taken after consultations with Morcha president Bimal Gurung. “Even Bimal Gurung is of the opinion that time has come to put an end to illegal construction,” said the chairperson.

The municipality has also decided to make it mandatory for builders to conduct soil tests before starting construction. “We want soil tests to be compulsory. We also want all buildings to have provisions for garages. I was going through all building plans and it has come to our notice that most people construct buildings that are different from the plans we sanctioned. We want to put an end to this practice.”