Files of ?illegal? buildings go missing

THE FILES of over a dozen alleged illegal multi-storeyed apartment buildings against which a public litigation interest has been moved in the High Court here are said to be missing from the LDA.

On July 1, the LDA had published a list of 32 highrise buildings following a PIL, which claimed that they had been built in violation of the norms. Of these while 23 of these structures most of them group housing complex are in enforcement Zone-I (the area in and around Hazratganj) of the LDA, nine others fall under Zone-II (Lalbagh region).

According to sources, the files of 18 such buildings including 13 in Zone and five in Zone are untraceable. Apart from a host of prominent private buildings, the list of the alleged unauthorised structures also contains the name of government owned property like the Darul Shafa B block extension in Lalbagh.  

The interesting part of the LDA’s notice to the owners of these high-rises have been asked by to furnish proof whether they have built these structures in accordance with the prevailing building norms and bye-laws (sic). But then, isn’t it the LDA’s job to monitor and regulate all development and construction related activity in the State capital? Why then was the development agency shifting the onus of proof on the owners of these multi-storeyed constructions?

“Since the State Government had introduced several self-compounding schemes in the past to regularize these structures, we don’t know for sure which all buildings have been compounded,” pointed out an official. He said the building owners has been asked to submit certified copies showing that they had incorporated prescribed fire-safety measures and obtained the completion certificate with the LDA latest by July 9.

The deadline was subsequently extended and now according to sources, a hearing on the issue by a prescribed authority in the LDA has been scheduled for Friday.