A councillor of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation told the civic house on Saturday that despite assurances from the mayor, they were not receiving any list of approved building plans in their areas that could have helped them spot illegal under-construction buildings.
Hakim promised to look into the matter while responding to the councillor’s allegation.
By Saturday evening, the building department of the civic body issued an order asking all engineers in charge of boroughs to send the list to borough chairpersons ahead of borough meetings every month.
On May 20, Hakim said that councillors would be given a list of buildings in their wards whose construction had been approved by the KMC so they can keep watch on possible illegal construction.
Once the list was available to them, councillors could not shrug off responsibility if an illegal construction took place in their ward, the mayor had said.
According to the plan, the chairperson of each borough was supposed to get the list and distribute it among councillors in the borough.
A borough is made of several wards, each of which has one councillor.
On Saturday, Biswarup De, the Trinamul councillor from Ward 48, said no such listhad reached borough V. Ward 48 is part of borough V of the KMC.
“We are not getting the list that was promised,” De said in the house.
He later told The Telegraph that a meeting of all councillors in borough V will be held on July 18.
The councillors were supposed to get the list for the month of June by June 30, but that has not happened yet, De added.
The phone number of Rehana Khatoon, the chairperson of borough V, was switched off on Saturday evening.
While responding to the allegation, Hakim said at the civic house: “I would look into this problem immediately after I go to my chamber.”
Hakim added that the blame fell on local councillors and officials of the buildings department of the KMC in case there was an illegal construction.
Within hours of the allegation and Hakim’s response, the director-general of the building department of KMC issued an “office circular” asking all executive engineers who are in charge of boroughs to send the list.
“The report is to be given prior to borough committee meeting of every month and should be ward-wise,” the circular reads.
The circular also mentions that it was issued under orders of the mayor.
De also complained that the KMC’s building department had no architects.
Hakim said there were architects at the junior level but the KMC has spoken to the government on appointing an architect in the rank of a deputy chief engineer.