The demolished roof on Tuesday. (Sanat Kumar Sinha)

The Calcutta Municipal Corporation on Tuesday demolished an “illegal” floor of a three-storey Burrabazar building that the authorities alleged was constructed during last month.

“An extra floor spread over 2,000sq ft was constructed within weeks in October. Today we demolished the illegally-constructed portion following a complaint against the developer,” said Debasish Chakraborty, the director-general of the CMC’s building department.

The civic agency’s demolition squad, guarded by a police team, tore down the new top-floor roof at 34 Sir Hari Ram Goenka Street in Banstala, Burrabazar, within an hour.

According to CMC records, the 40-year-old house belongs to businessman Sanjay Pandey. The building has offices and shops selling garments and dry fruits.

It has been alleged that Pandey hired contractors early this year to build an additional floor and palms were greased subsequently.

Burrabazar is a maze of buildings and bylanes, commanding one of the country’s highest real estate rates.

“Stringent construction norms and lack of space have created a thriving business of illegal construction in the area. The current market rate in Burrabazar is anything between Rs 40,000 and Rs 50,000 per square feet,” a resident of the market hub said.

Some promoters in Burrabazar alleged that 34 Sir Hari Ram Goenka Street got the stick on Tuesday for “breaking the rules”.

“A section of politicians had demanded a big sum from the contractors for the additional floor. But the contractors snubbed the leaders and refused to pay. The leaders knew what to do… and they waited till the masonry is completed. When the floor was up, they took out the demolition order. They got their revenge today,” a promoter said.

“This is why a weeks-old construction was demolished so swiftly while scores of demolition orders have been gathering dust for years,” he said.

CMC’s Chakraborty denied the allegations, saying the civic agency was cracking down on illegal constructions.

Burrabazar veterans said they could not recall any instance from the past two decades where the civic authorities displayed such alacrity in demolishing an illegal construction in the area where several demolition orders were pending execution for several years.

“We cannot recall when was the last time an illegal building was demolished in Burrabazar. Today, the police and civic officials arrived with political leaders,” said a businessman in Banstala.

“The civic officials, who often cite lack of manpower in carrying out demolition orders, put together a team for Tuesday’s demolition in double-quick time. Extra force was requisitioned from Lalbazar to keep obstacles in check,” a source said.

Sources in the CMC said the decision to demolish the illegal floor was taken earlier this month.