Stung by criticism over squeezed roads, the Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) on Sunday pressed man and machine into service to free its main artery - the Mahatma Gandhi Road - of encroachment and a popular shopping complex was among the 20-odd commercial establishments that faced the music.
The civic guardian has decided to conduct similar crackdowns on all major thoroughfares in the capital in phases every Wednesday, beginning February 24, and follow the drives up with routine visits to ensure that squatters don't return and businesses honour the building code.
Municipal commissioner Prashant Kumar said they had taken the 1983 Ranchi Master Plan as the yardstick to measure original width of arteries.
The total length of Mahatma Gandhi Road, aka Main Road, is 4km from Albert Ekka Chowk at one end and Rajendra Chowk at the other. According to the master plan, the standard width of the road along Sujata Chowk near Roshpa Tower - a commercial complex favourite among shoppers - should have been 120ft.
But, the complex was found to be using 18ft of road space for its private parking. Not only that, the encroached area had been fenced off with iron grille and a portion rented out to small shops. RMC workers, under the supervision of Kumar, traffic SP Manoj Ratan Chothe, civic officials, magistrates and police, dismantled the iron barricade and removed a dozen hoardings to free the road near Roshpa Tower.
Several other stretches of Main Road were found to be narrowed down by encroachment and notices were slapped on guilty parties.
The originally 80-feet-wide stretch from Albert Ekka Chowk to Ratan Talkies has shrunk to 59ft near Sheetal Tower, which earned a rap. From Ratan Talkies to Ranchi Club, the average width of the road according to the master plan is 120ft, but it was measured as barely 80ft on Sunday. A dozen-odd commercial complexes have been identified and will be pulled up for using their basements for business instead of parking.
Near Urdu Library, the road width was barely 50ft as shopkeepers have either expanded their businesses or are using it as private space. The office of a private bank was found encroaching upon 9ft of road width not far from Roshpa Tower. A heavy duty generator was found illegally installed on the illegally occupied space.
"Notices are being sent to offenders for violation of building rules. Section 453(1) of the Jharkhand Municipality Act, 2011, clearly states that deviation from a building map is not permissible unless approved by the authority concerned," Kumar said.
The municipal commissioner maintained that the drive had three objectives. "First, clearing encroachment permanently. Second, imposing penalty on offenders. And, finally, making more room for paid parking lots."
Traffic SP Chothe gave a thumbs up to the RMC crackdown. "Main Road will breathe easy now. Managing traffic here has always been a task. Organised parking lots are likely to ease undue bottlenecks. We shall continue to work in tandem with the RMC," he said.
