Mayor Gautam Deb on Saturday claimed that the present Trinamool Congress-run board at the Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) had performed better than the erstwhile Left Front board in handling cases of unauthorised constructions in the city.
“Ever since we have assumed office, we have adopted a zero-tolerance policy against illegal constructions. The official data show that we have demolished many more buildings as compared to the Left, which had been in power at the civic body from 2015 to 2021,” the mayor said at the monthly board meeting of the SMC.
According to him, from March 2023 to June 27 this year, the TMC-run board had identified 398 cases of illegal constructions.
“We had demolished 106 unauthorised structures in 2023 and another 69 illegal buildings from January 1 to June this year. But when the Left was in power, they had served 64 notices on the owners of unauthorised constructions and could demolish only 18 structures,” the mayor said in reply to a question raised by Dipta Karmakar, a
Left councillor at the SMC.
Deb’s assertion comes within five days of chief minister Mamata Banerjee publicly admonishing him during an administrative meeting in Nabanna for rampant illegal constructions in Siliguri.
At the board meeting on Saturday, the mayor also said the SMC was taking steps against those who were using parking spaces and roofs for commercial purposes.
“There are reports that people are covering drains with concrete slabs and then using the space for shops or stalls. In some buildings, rooftops, covered with trusses, are used for commercial activities. These will be stopped,” said Deb.
Amit Jain, a BJP councillor and the leader of the Opposition at the SMC, requested the mayor not to take any drastic step against hawkers without drawing up an appropriate rehabilitation programme
for them.
Like other towns and cities of Bengal, the SMC also launched a drive to clear encroachments.
“We will clear the encroachments. But simultaneously, we will work on the policy to rehabilitate hawkers,” the mayor said.
