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Motorcycles parked outside Kamani Centre and Jeevan Prakash building in Bistupur on Wednesday clog the road on both sides. Picture by Animesh Sengupta
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Realtors or owners of residential apartments or marketing complexes at prime locations Bistupur and Sakchi, who use their basement space for purpose other than parking will face the axe of Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee (JNAC).
“The civic body will start a fresh drive to stop commercial activities in basements in a two-fold measure to increase parking space and rein in building violations. We have set up a three-member team to review and survey owners/ builders yet to clear basement space for parking ,” said JNAC special officer R.N. Dwivedi.
Dwivedi said the team, headed by assistant engineer G.K. Bhagat, will conduct a fresh survey of buildings in densely populated and posh Bistupur and Sakchi.
The team will review the status before making a list of realtors flouting civic body directives.
Talking to The Telegraph, Dwivedi said the survey team would submit its report within a week, after which the civic body would crack down on violators of building norms.
“After getting the survey report, we will forcibly clear basements, if found they have shops or commercial establishments. Only parking is allowed,” said the special officer.
Dwivedi added the JNAC had in March 2011 started a drive against violators of building rules at residential apartment and marts in prime locations of Sakchi, Bistupur, Golmuri and Sonari.
“During the drive, we had identified over 50 such apartments and marketing complexes in Sakchi and Bistupur where basement spaces had been let out to shops and offices. The JNAC had sealed up these basements and dismantled a dozen. Following that, building owners had given written undertakings supported by affidavits that they would remove shops in basements on their own and submit a compliance report with the civic body accordingly, but most of them did not turn up before us,” he said, explaining the need for a fresh drive.
The JNAC special officer said as the civic body remained busy with several other government work and could not keep daily track of violators of building norms, many realtors started or resumed business activity on their basements to make a quick buck.
In a situation where basement is let out to shops and offices, vehicles have to be parked on roadsides, squeezing traffic and inviting mishaps for commuters and pedestrians.
For example, the stretch before Kamani Centre is congested with vehicles double-parked on both sides of Bistupur Main Road. Similarly, at Sakchi, wide arteries are narrowed to lanes at Aam Bagan, Straight Mile Road and Kalimati Road, as cars and motorcycles stay parked for hours.
Assigning penalty is difficult as the violators are usually affluent. But the JNAC special officer said they would be stern about punishment.
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