The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will file FIRs against owners of “dangerous buildings” who do not repair the structures even after they are served notices, mayor Firhad Hakim said on Friday.
“Three buildings collapsed in the past few days. People were lucky that the portions did not collapse on anyone. Otherwise, people could have died,” Hakim said during the weekly phone-in programme Talk to Mayor.
He instructed senior KMC officials to file FIRs against owners of such buildings.
“We will file FIRs against owners of the dilapidated structures that are served notices for repairs. They will get two or three months to undertake the repairs. If they do not complete the repairs by then, we will file another FIR informing the police that the owner did not undertake the repairs,” Hakim said.
Sources in the KMC said it was likely to issue an official order invoking sections of the KMC Act, 1980, to empower officials to file the FIRs.
Scores of old and crumbling structures dot north and central Calcutta. Their repairs have been long overdue. Litigations involving owners or between owners and tenants often delay repairs. The meagre amount that the tenants pay as rent makes arranging funds for the repairs difficult.
Hakim said the KMC had amended its building rules to make it easier for such tenanted structures to be demolished and new buildings constructed in their place.
The KMC will issue occupancy certificates to tenants, ensuring them space in the new building. The owners will be allowed to build additional space, more than what building rules usually permit.