Demolition of unsafe buildings deferred

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, June 15

Though the Municipal Corporation (MC) had deferred its demolition drive against unsafe structures, fresh notices have been served on the occupants for vacating these premises at the earliest.

The list of such rickety buildings is long. Officials of the MC said there were 10 such buildings in the walled city area, including commercial ones, which could collapse any moment.

Municipal Town Planner Des Raj said the demolition drive for unsafe buildings could not be conducted as the teams were engaged in freeing other properties from illegal occupation in various areas of the city.

He said, “Fresh warnings have been issued to the occupants of those buildings, which have been declared unsafe. We have asked them to shift to some other safe place. Next time, we will demolish such buildings without giving any prior notice.”

There are scores of century-old structures located in the busiest locations of the old walled city area, which pose a danger not only to the lives of those who live in it, but also to nearby buildings and passersby.

Des Raj said four complaints had already been received from the residents living around these rickety structures. He admitted that in majority of the cases, there was a tussle between the landlord and the tenants and the matter was pending in courts. “The landlord wants to evacuate tenants, who have been living in his building from decades, but tenants are not ready to move out till the landlord shells out handsome amount in lieu of vacating the property,” added Des Raj.

He said, “This is a major hindrance for us to take stern action. But now, in recent cases, the court has allowed us to act as per the norms. Still, we hesitate to move ahead freely. Besides, we are also pressurised by politicians on many occasions to come to a conclusion about these dilapidated structures.”