Kolkata, Sept. 15 -- The Calcutta High Court has questioned why the administration halted the demolition of an unauthorised structure in Canning even after the deadline given to its occupants to remove it themselves had expired.
A Division Bench of Justice Shampa Sarkar and Justice Arjun Ray Mukherjee said the conduct of the Block Development Officer, Canning-I, and the police was not acceptable, as a court-ordered demolition could not be discontinued on the assurance of voluntary compliance.
The court was dealing with an appeal against a Single Bench order directing implementation of the Sub-Divisional Officer's demolition order under Section 23(5) of the West Bengal Panchayat Act, 1973. The dispute relates to a construction on Plot No. 404 at Taldi in South 24-Parganas.
The Bench noted that the Taldi Gram Panchayat had inspected the site, heard the parties and concluded that the structure had been raised without the required sanction. The SDO subsequently reached the same conclusion after hearing the parties, noting that no valid sanction plan had been produced.
The SDO had ordered removal within 15 days, failing which the BDO and Panchayat authorities were to demolish it with police assistance.
The Bench also rejected reliance on a sanction concerning Plot No. 403, observing that the disputed construction stood on Plot No. 404. Finding no substantiated right over the structure, it upheld the demolition order.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.