The Calcutta High Court has directed the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) to ensure that no fresh construction takes place at a site where illegal structures were demolished on the court’s instructions, after allegations that building activity resumed at the same location.
The direction was issued by a division bench comprising Chief Justice Ravindra Vithalrao Ghuge and Justice Om Narayan Rai while hearing a case concerning illegal constructions in Kolkata. The court summoned KMC commissioner and administrator Smita Pandey after expressing dissatisfaction with the civic body’s response to the alleged recurrence of construction.
The court was told that KMC had carried out a demolition at the site pursuant to an earlier judicial order, but that fresh construction allegedly appeared there after some time. The bench instructed the commissioner to ensure that no further construction was allowed at the location.
During the hearing, the Chief Justice criticised what he described as the “aloof” attitude of counsel representing KMC despite the court’s earlier directions. After Pandey appeared before the bench, the Chief Justice referred to his experience dealing with cases involving municipal corporations in Maharashtra, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli and Navi Mumbai civic bodies.
The Chief Justice observed that municipal commissioners were often not provided with specific information from the field and could remain unaware of developments on the ground. The observation places the KMC’s field-level monitoring and internal reporting systems at the centre of the court’s concern, particularly when construction allegedly resumes after a demolition.
The state government and KMC have been directed to submit a report on the steps taken to demolish illegal construction and prevent it from returning at the site. The case will be heard again on October 14, when the court is expected to consider the reports and the authorities’ compliance with its directions.
The proceedings are linked to a wider matter involving around 43 alleged illegal constructions in and around Keshav Chandra Sen Street. In an earlier hearing on a public interest litigation, the Chief Justice had ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry into the matter.
The CBI was directed to conduct an initial inquiry using available documents and by collecting information from the municipality and the police. The court said the agency could form a special investigation team if necessary.
The bench also remarked that illegal construction had continued in Kolkata and in other cities, including Mumbai, and said proactive action by municipal authorities was essential. The Chief Justice questioned why a civic body would not demolish a structure itself if it was illegal, while observing that the need for police protection was a separate issue.
The court’s next review will focus on the reports from the state and KMC, the steps taken against the alleged illegal structures and the measures proposed to prevent construction from restarting after demolition.
