Mushrooming of illegal apartments, shopping malls and business establishments in violation of Bihar building bylaws 2014 are proving a menace as Bhagalpur gears up to turn into a smart city.

Ever since Bhagalpur made it to the smart city list, a drive for proper roads and beautification of prominent places has been on the cards, said Kumar Anuj, sub-divisional officer, sadar, who heads an anti-encroachment team. He admitted encroachments were narrowing roads and triggering traffic problems.

The district administration has rescued many prominent places from the clutches of squatters, mostly kiosk owners, but it is not enough. Many residents have raised questions on rampant illegal constructions for commercial purposes. Dinesh Kumar Singh, a lawyer-cum-RTI activist, said he had urged officials concerned to take action against such illegal constructions. "Such big buildings have started mushrooming even without sufficient space for entry of ambulances or fire tenders in case of emergencies," Dinesh said.

"One such big apartment coming up near the Bhagalpur airstrip obtained a no-objection certificate (NOC) from Malda airport (in Bengal) and not the Bhagalpur airstrip, which is a stone's throw away. Because of the high-rise in front of the runway, landing of aircraft is fraught with risks."

Dinesh has levelled serious charges against the authorities for violating norms. "The bench of justice Nabin Sinha and Vikash Jain of Patna High Court had in a landmark judgment in the civil writ jurisdiction case 81/52 of Narendar Mishra vs state of Bihar and other respondents in 2013 directed authorities to take proper action to counter such illegal constructions," he said.

He said he had approached the secretary, urban development department, and other officials with regard to about illegal constructions.

Sanjeet Kumar, a resident, said construction of big buildings for commercial purposes is becoming a serious problem. "Dr Amula Ghosh Road, from Khalifabag to Kharman Chak, was a residential area once," Sanjeet said. "Today it it is a bustling market area. One can hardly walk there. People who come for shopping park their vehicles on the roads, triggering traffic jams."

Avinash Singh, town commissioner, Bhagalpur Municipal Corporation, said they had ordered demolition of 10 such illegal constructions and ordered for fixing penalties on such constructions.