Paradip, Sept. 6: Paradip port authorities have served eviction orders on about 500 unauthorised occupants, asking them to vacate its residential quarters.

“Daily labourers are occupying 170 quarters. They are not entitled to such facility. Steps are being taken to evict them from the quarter premises. Notices have been served upon them. In the event, if they do not voluntarily vacate, they would be forcefully evicted,” said the port’s senior assistant estate officer K. Thirumoolar.

The port engineering department has already declared the dilapidated quarters unsafe. From the safety point of view, the quarters would be demolished after it is freed from the unauthorised occupants. Plans are afoot to build new quarters to replace the old and dilapidated ones, he said.

As getting a residential accommodation in the fast-growing port township is difficult, the unlawful occupation of port quarters has become the order of the day. The port employees, who have already retired, keep on occupying about 300 residential quarters. Similar eviction notices have been served, asking them to leave the premises after Puja vacation.

According to the norms, the retired employees are entitled to quarter facility for four months post-retirement. But, it has been found that many of them are in possession of quarters in excess of the stipulated timeframe. Though they are paying the commercial monthly rent as penalty, they could no longer be allowed to overstay.

The port township houses around 5,200 residential quarters, of which, 2,800 are earmarked for port employees and officers only.

The rest of the quarters are meant for the port users consisting of workers, exporters, stevedores, trade unions, state government and central government employees and socio-cultural organisations, said an official.

There are allegations that quarters have been allotted to some of the port users, who are not eligible for it. Genuine and legitimate port users are going without the quarter facility.

Responding to the allegation, the port’s senior assistant estate officer said: “Instances of such nature is yet to come to our notice. However, we are cross-checking the credentials and eligibility criterion of some of the port users, who have been allotted quarters.”

The number of residential quarters in the port township is highly inadequate to meet with growing housing demand. As a result, large areas in and around Paradip are besieged with unauthorised human settlements.