The building department of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation’s borough XVI had about three months back served a notice of illegal construction to the Barisha property of the Calcutta diocese of the Church of North India (CNI), officials of the civic body said on Saturday.
The notice, a “stop-work” order, was given after an inspection team found that columns to erect a new floor had come up above a single-storey nursing college on the premises. The inspection followed a complaint to the department about illegal construction at 81 Diamond Harbour Road.
The Church wrote to chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday alleging that Sudip Polley, the KMC councillor of Ward 123, had barged into the Barisha property and threatened to shut down the premises over repair work.
On Saturday, a senior official of the Calcutta diocese of the CNI refuted the charge against them and told The Telegraph that “there has been no illegal construction”.
“We received a complaint a few months back about an ongoing construction at 81 Diamond Harbour Road. The complainant said it was an unauthorised construction. A team of engineers inspected the property and found that columns had come up above a single-storey building, but they did not obtain any permission from the KMC,” said a civic body official. “We issued a stop-work notice to them immediately.”
Raghab Naik, property secretary of the Calcutta diocese of the CNI, was travelling on Saturday and could not be reached on the phone. Other officials who The Telegraph spoke with requested anonymity.
“There has been no illegal construction. Only a tin shed was being placed on top,” said an official of the Church.
The 81 Diamond Harbour Road property comprises Sister Florence College of Nursing for Girls, Shanti Niwas Old-age Home, HIV Hospice and Oxford Mission.
KMC officials said a hearing on the matter is scheduled for next week. “The hearing will be held where both the complainant and the Church will be heard. Such hearings are common when our inspection team finds any illegal construction. The hearing will be conducted by a special officer,” said a KMC official.
The KMC’s special officer (building) who will conduct the hearing is empowered to decide whether to order the demolition of an illegal structure or regularise it.
Regularisation means an unauthorised or illegal portion of a building is given a legal nod after recovering a hefty penalty. If an illegal construction is minor and does not threaten the structural stability of a building, there are chances of it being regularised.
Sources said on Saturday that tension was brewing between Polley and the Church authorities for some time as Polley wanted them to reopen a ground on the Church’s premises that has been closed to residents of the area.
“Many local clubs used to practice on the ground of another property, also under custody of the Church, but across the road from 81 Diamond Harbour Road. The authorities stopped access of people to this ground since Covid. They are yet to reopen it,” Polley said on Saturday.
The Church responded saying access to the ground had to be closed for maintenance and security reasons. “It is a private property and it was becoming difficult to maintain. We decided to close it to public for maintenance and security reasons. We failed to keep track of who was using it if the ground was kept open for outsiders,” said the Church official.
