There was no question of succumbing to any kind of pressure and the demolition drive against illegally constructed buildings in the city will be taken to its logical end, said district in-charge Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao.
Speaking to presspersons here on Friday, Mr. Rao said unlike earlier, the drive would not be abandoned half-way for any reason. The Hubballi Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) had made a move in this direction and cleared nearly 3.41 lakh sqft of parking places encroached by building owners.
In the second phase action would be taken against 79 buildings — all of them huge buildings — that have violated the norms. The process of issuing notices to the owners of these buildings would commence on June 5 and action would be initiated if they fail to regularise the illegal construction fulfilling the conditions laid by the Act within 15 days, Mr. Rao said.
The HDMC would also undertake mapping to identify and clear encroachment of roads and government land. The mapping process would be completed in two months and action would commence soon, he said.
Rs. 8 crore had been allocated to repair canals in the city. Parleys were held with the railway authorities to conduct a joint survey of the canals passing through their lands. The State would make all efforts required to include Hubballi-Dharwad under the Union government’s smart city project, Mr. Rao added.
