Mayor Gautam Deb on Tuesday acknowledged the problems faced by realtors whose building plans have been lying with the Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) for almost two years for approval.

The plans are stuck at the SMC after the Supreme Court ordered a halt in all construction activities within the 5km radius of any forest.

The areas within the 5km radius of the forests are marked as “eco-sensitive zones” where all types of construction activities were banned by the Supreme Court.

At the monthly meeting of the SMC board on Tuesday, CPM councillor Mousumi Hajra said hundreds of plans for commercial and residential buildings at different locations in the city were lying with the civic body.

In his reply, Deb said he had recently held a meeting with officers of the state forest department on the issue.

“They have informed me that realtors in some other cities and towns of the country have a similar problem. The Union ministry of environment and forests is also aware of it and the matter has been forwarded to the Parliament for a final decision. We hope the decision will be made soon,” said the mayor.

Some portions of Siliguri are contiguous to patches of forests. So, the building plans submitted from eco-sensitive zones were withheld by the SMC.

At the meeting, the board also passed a resolution, condemning the rape and murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Calcutta. The mayor tabled the resolution which demanded capital punishment of all those involved in the crime.

The BJP, however, staged a walkout.

“We wanted to table a resolution on the deteriorating law and order in the state and the incident at RG Kar. The chairman, however, denied us permission. So, we walked out of the meeting,” said Amit Jain, the leader of the Opposition at the SMC.