Rattled by the collapse of a five-storey building that killed an IT professional last week, the Pune district administration on Tuesday said it would soon commence on a major drive to demolish illegal buildings and residential areas that have mushroomed in and around villages near the city.
“We will be charting a list of unauthorized buildings and begin cracking down on them soon. In such cases, the builder will have to recompense the residents and provide fresh accommodation,” said Pune District Collector Saurabh Rao, remarking that aid for the machinery and manpower required to demolish buildings will be taken from the Pune Municipal Corporation and the Zilla Parishad.
Mr. Rao said that he had already directed circle officers to prepare a list of illegal buildings and structures. The list is expected to be completed within a fortnight and will be made available in the public domain.
Illegal construction listed right up to 2012 will come in for demolition to prevent a recrudescence of the Narhe-Ambegaon incident, said administration sources
The newly-constructed five-storey Pitaram Complex in the city’s Narhe-Ambegaon suburb crumbled in the wee hours of Friday, killing a 28-year-old IT professional, Sandeep Mohite. The building, with five floors, 20 apartments and a parking lot, was constructed barely a year ago.
'Off PMC jurisdiction'
The police have lodged a case of culpable homicide against a city-based builder Kishore Vadgama of VK Associates. In the aftermath of the collapse, the Pune Mayor, Dattatrey Dhankawde, while promising action, had dithered stating that the building was off-limits for the PMC.
According to revenue officers, illegal construction is rampant on hills on the outskirts of Pune as they do not fall under the PMC’s jurisdiction. Unauthorized construction has seen a spree in the Ambegaon-Katraj areas where, according to revenue officers, a staggering 2,500 new constructions have come up.
Final straw
“This is the third such incident [of building collapse] in Pune and the Narhe Ambegaon case has proved to be the final straw. Accordingly, we will act directly against those illegal buildings that are not occupied. The administration will first serve notices and then initiate action in cases of unauthorized constructions already occupied by people,” said acting District Collector Pradeep Patil.
Mr. Patil also said that if complaints are received in specific cases pertaining to substandard construction, the administration will issue notices to the builders concerned.
