A team from the Calcutta Municipal Corporation, backed by police, started pulling down two illegal floors of a building at 5F Palm Avenue, a few metres from the chief minister’s residence, on Thursday.

“The landlord does not have the permission for the third and fourth floors. The demolition will continue on Friday as well,” said Gorachand Mondol, the director-general (building) of the civic body.

The drive followed a report in Metro on April 1 on how illegal construction is rampant in Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s backyard.

Last year, too, the landlord, A. Majumdar, had erected two floors illegally. A report in Metro had prompted the civic body to raze the floors. “But they have come up again in violation of rules,” said an executive engineer of the building department. Majumdar could not be contacted for comment.

The tenants who had moved into the third and fourth floors said they knew those were illegal.

Local residents blamed a nexus of 3Ps — promoters, police and politicians — for the rise in the number of unauthorised structures in the area. Mohammed Sohail, a resident of Rifle Range Road, close to Palm Avenue, said: “Some civic officials are on the promoters’ payroll and hence, look the other way while illegal structures come up.” Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya