Unauthorised construction has to be tackled at the root

This picture has been used for representational purpose

At least 20,000 illegal structures are to be razed in Kalyan-Dombivli, reports have quoted the civic chief as saying. The structures that are on the radar are shops, restaurants, hotels and chawls where extra rooms have been built. Over 350 cases have been filed over unauthorised construction within the Kalyan Dombivli limits, said the KDMC chief.

The head honcho claimed that he had held a meeting with officials and demolition work is expected to begin in the next couple of weeks. While it is important that unauthorised structures are razed, it is equally vital that we tackle the issue from the roots. Civic chiefs and officials have to look at how these unauthorised structures come up in the first place.

How did the person who has now been served notice, get permissions? If he did not have any permission or documentation, how was he allowed to start the work at all? If structures are allowed to be started, continued and actually completed without any intervention at those stages, then there is a serious flaw in the system.

While this particular problem highlighted is of Kalyan-Dombivli, other areas in the city have illegal construction too, and the pattern is similar. Get to the genesis of these problems. It is evident that the rot is present right at the beginning and we cannot be reactive. Rather, one has to be proactive and stop these constructions, alterations or additions call it what you will. Instead, we seem to be reacting and that is a colossal waste of time, manpower and money.

Structures that add on floors, without permissions; establishments that stretch out on to the roads or take over a portion of the pavement, make it theirs… the list is on. There has to be a concerted effort to tackle these if illegal, in the early stages itself.