Builders and promoters found stacking construction material by blocking pavements or dumping slurry and waste into gully pits and drainage channels in New Town will be fined.

A notification issued by the New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) has specified that a strip of pavement that is at least 1.5m-wide has to be left free for pedestrian movement.

Construction material, including sand, bags of cement, bricks and stone chips, dumped on pavements and roads are common in New Town.

This not only spells trouble for pedestrians and motorists but also blocks gully pits and channels leading to water-logging in the area during rains.

Bricks and concrete slabs on a footpath in AA Block, New Town, on Wednesday

Several parts of New Town got waterlogged during showers at the onset of the monsoon this year. The NKDA clearing teams found and broke hardened slurry and concrete-like substances that were choking the drainage lines.

“During a recent clean-up drive of the drainage lines and during regular maintenance runs, we have found many drainage channels blocked by deposits of cement, sand, stone chips and waste slurry from construction sites,” a senior NKDA official said.

Dumping of construction and demolition waste, too, is banned in New Town. This waste has to be taken to the construction and demolition waste processing unit at Patharghata in Rajarhat.

Builders can either cart the waste on their own or ask the NKDA to arrange to clear the site.

“We take a fee of ₹2,000 as transportation charges for construction and demolition waste,” said the official.

According to NKDA regulations, no material should be stacked on the roads, service roads or pavements, and the builders must not dump construction waste into sewage or drainage channels.

The NKDA official said builders or developers found flouting the rules will be issued “steep fines”.

The official said the fines were aimed at ensuring pedestrians and motorists were not put at risk by such dumping.

“We will start issuing notices to all those builders and promoters who don’t comply with our guidelines. This will not only ensure the pavements and roads are kept clear but also prevent clogging of sewerage and drainage channels.”

In almost every block, bricks, stone chips, sand, sacks of cement and marble slabs can be spotted stacked on walkways and pavements, blocking them completely.

In several areas, construction material, waste and slurries spill over onto not only the main roads but lanes inside blocks as well.

In Action Area I’s AA Block construction materials block the walkway and a part of the bicycle track.

In Action Area II, building materials are stacked in front of several under-construction buildings, blocking a sizable portion of the road and the entire footpath.

An NKDA official said teams would be sent to map the areas where construction materials were stacked or waste was dumped on the roadside.

Initially, notices will be sent to the builders and contractors of those buildings where materials are stacked on the pavements and roads.

“The notices will warn them of the fines and direct them to remove the material. If they don’t comply within the stipulated time, then fines will be issued,” the official said.