After several abortive attempts to clear encroachers from the Bondel Gate flyover site, the state government will undertake a demolition drive in the area on May 29.

The last demolition drive was planned in April after receiving the chief minister?s nod, but was abandoned, officials said.

?The encroachments will be removed. Most of the families, who live along the stretch, have been allotted houses in Nonadanga under a Centre-sponsored scheme,? urban development minister Asok Bhattacharya said on Monday.

The minister had earlier met local MLA Rabin Deb and public works department (PWD) officials to review the flyover project.

Work on the Rs 21-crore flyover was started in March 1996. It was scheduled to be ready by July 2002. The project cost has already escalated by Rs 15 crore.

The demolition of the illegal shanties on the site has proved to be the biggest stumbling block in the project. Backed by MLA Deb, the shanty-dwellers have refused to shift even after the government compensated many of them. About 103 families live in the 105 shanties on the site.

The railways are funding a part of the flyover project, as it is being built over railway tracks. The Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority and PWD (roads) are the other implementing agencies.

Officials expressed disappointment at the role played by the executing agency, National Projects Construction Corporation.

?We were thinking about assigning the work to another agency. However, if a new contractor is sought now, the project might be delayed even further,? an official said.

?When we planned the April demolition, our target was to complete the flyover by November. We are finding it difficult to set a new time-frame after cancellation of the drive,? stated a PWD official.

MLA Deb said the construction work would resume on the Rifle Range Road stretch.