The tie-up between police and the civic body to pull down illegal and unsafe buildings will take effect from December 10.

As part of the collaboration, the Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC) is raising a demolition squad, which will be protected by a dedicated police force.

An order issued by civic commissioner Alapan Bandyopadhyay says the squad will comprise an assistant engineer, a sub-assistant engineer, a demolition superviser and six labourers.

Equipment like hammers, gas-cutters, pneumatic drills, pay-loader and bulldozers will be at its disposal.

Director-general (building) Gorachand Mondol has been asked to ensure that the squad functions round the clock.

Police commissioner Gautam Mohan Chakrabarti and South 24-Parganas police superintendent Praveen Kumar will keep two teams ready at Lalbazar and Alipore, respectively (part of the CMC area falls under Kumar’s jurisdiction).

Before the squad goes out on an assignment, it will ask either of the police teams for protection. A hotline is being set up between the civic control room and the police control rooms.

“The civic cell and the police teams will complement each other,” said commissioner Bandyopadhyay.

Senior civic officials blame inadequate police support for the rise in the number of illegal and unsafe buildings. “Resistance from local residents often forced civic demolition workers to backtrack, as the police did not come to their rescue. The tie-up will give more teeth to our drive against illegal and unsafe structures,” said a senior CMC official.

An estimate of the civic building department states that the state government and the CMC had incurred a loss of over Rs 1,500 crore in the past two decades on account of non-payment of building sanction fees, property tax and registration fees by the owners of illegal structures.

Unlawful constructions flourish mostly in Jadavpur, Behala, Garden Reach, Topsia, Tiljala, Kasba, Ekbalpore, Kidderpore, New Alipore, Rajabazar and Tollygunge.

“The illegal structures house everything — from garages and shops to apartments and retail outlets,” said an official of the civic building department.