Cuttack, Dec. 7: The Cuttack Development Authority will carry out a survey to identify persons illegally using allotted residential plots for commercial purposes in the satellite township of Markat Nagar on the city's south-western fringes.

Taking a cue from the Delhi Development Authority, the state urban housing department plans to seal the illegal commercial establishments that have recently come up on the residential plots, the authority's vice-chairman Pratap Das told The Telegraph.

A senior official of the authority said that as eviction and demolition took longer, a proposal to seal the commercial establishments in order to check the misuse of the residential plots was being mooted.

The development authority have already found deviations with many people renting out a major area of their residential plots for commercial use for huge profits.

"The sealing proposal of the commercial units that have come up on the residential plots is in the pipeline, and we will shortly undertake an extensive survey to identify the violators in the first phase," Das said.

According to Section 91 of the Orissa Development Authorities Act, the concerned authority has the power to remove unauthorised development that violate the original lease or agreement. An official said the authority had lost revenue due to the misuse of residential plots for commercial purposes and the proposed survey was significant as a result.

The development body has begun a public announcement drive as its seeks to immediately stop the commercial use of residential areas in violation of the existing lease agreement under Section 15 of the Orissa Development Authorities Act.

Official sources said the authority would slap the plot owners found in violation of the lease agreement with showcase notices. Necessary steps would then be taken to seal the commercial units.

In another development, it has sought logistic support from police and the Cuttack Municipal Corporation for clearing roadside encroachments in Sector-6 to Sector-12. "We will launch a special eviction drive for a four-day period from December 15 to clear encroachments that cause severe traffic congestion at various sectors at CDA," said enforcement officer R.C. Swain.

Swain said a lot of temporary kiosks and other roadside vending zones had come up at various places of the developed township, creating hurdles for the smooth flow of traffic.

"Bulk of the space on the road is being used for dumping sand and other construction materials - a practice that has emerged as a major problem for local residents," said Sector-10 resident Umesh Sahu.