Kolkata, Nov. 3 -- The Calcutta High Court has directed the concerned authorities to extend adequate assistance to the owners of a dilapidated residential building in implementing a Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) order permitting its redevelopment, after a portion of the structure recently collapsed.
Justice Arjun Ray Mukherjee observed that there was no impediment to implementing the order passed by the KMC's Deputy Chief Engineer (Civil), Building North, on May 20, 2022. The court disposed of three connected writ petitions filed by Vijay Banka and others, New Milap Logistics and others, and M/s Om Sai Ram.
The 2022 order, passed under Section 412A of the KMC Act, 1980, provided for development of dilapidated buildings through a transparent process and under prescribed conditions. It also contemplated legal action against owners who allowed unsafe structures to remain in a dangerous condition.
Earlier, on January 11, 2023, a single-judge bench had allowed the landlords to proceed in accordance with law with demolition of the old structure and construction of a new building. It directed that the proposed plan earmark space for tenants and occupiers, who would be restored to possession of their respective portions subject to the outcome of a pending title suit.
The order was subsequently challenged before a Division Bench, which, in January 2025, recorded that Milap Roadways Private Limited was not a party to the title suit and that no material suggested any civil suit was pending against Sachin Ahuja.
The High Court was informed through a KMC status report dated November 2 that demolition had not started and a portion of the partly four and five-storey building had collapsed. The remaining structure could collapse at any moment, endangering occupants and the public.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.