Hours after the special council meeting of the Hubballi Dharwad Municipal Corporation resolved to demand the setting up of an experts committee and resurvey the buildings identified for encroachments over parking spaces, Deputy Commissioner of Dharwad Rajendra Cholan constituted the committee and announced that the demolition drive would begin either by Monday afternoon or Tuesday.
Mr. Cholan made this announcement in a joint emergency press conference he held along with HDMC Commissioner Noor Mansoor and Police Commissioner Ravindra Prasad on Thursday evening only a few hours after the special council meeting ended.
In the special council meeting chaired by Mayor Ashwini Majjagi, councillors barring party affiliations supported the demolition drive planned by the municipal corporation. Opposition leader Sudha Manikuntla, floor leader Sudhir Saraf, the former mayors Prakash Kyarakatti, Viranna Savadi and others said they were for the demolition drive to address the parking problem.
However, they wanted an expert committee to be set up to review the list already prepared as they felt that many ‘violators’ had been left out and they also wanted a resurvey of all the buildings.
Referring to the resolution of the special council meeting, Mr. Cholan said that a four-member committee headed by Joint Commissioner of HDMC and comprising of two engineers from HDMC and another from HDUDA was being formed. “The committee will review the list of 385 buildings identified for clearance of encroachments over parking spaces. They will have three days.
“They will most probably finish by Monday afternoon. And we will begin demolition drive either on Monday afternoon or Tuesday,” he announced.
Mr. Cholan said that the committee would also be asked to look into the complaints or information giving by public regarding parking encroachments in other buildings. “Just a phone call to HDMC control room or information via email to HDMC or the Deputy Commissioner’s office will be considered. The committee will verify it and if found true demolition drive will be initiated,” he said.
Mr. Cholan appealed to all the citizens to cooperate with the administration during the drive which was aimed at addressing the parking problem.
