Other States - Orissa   

BMC restrains from taking ‘unpleasant’ steps

BHUBANESWAR: Although Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) is not going into poll fray with other 93 local bodies next month, indications are evident that the authorities will restrain themselves from taking ‘unpleasant’ steps to evict encroachments at various places of the city.

The urban development department on Friday said it had no plans to remove slums from their respective areas.

In a written reply placed in the State Assembly here on Friday, Urban Development Minister Kanak Vardhan Singhdeo said decision on eviction of slum dwellers would taken when it would be deemed necessary.

Slum eviction was carried out by a joint squad comprising officials from general administration, Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) and BMC.

“We don’t have any plan to carry out eviction drive in near future,” Mr. Singhdeo told the Assembly.

According to BMC’s 2004 survey, a total of 229 slums were identified within its limits, comprising 71 notified slums (located on private and own land) and 158 unauthorised slums on government land. About 68,000 families belonging to Below Poverty Line category had made these slums their home.

However, a recent survey said the number of slums had gone up to 350 in the capital city. “Eviction of slums has never been systematic affairs from the beginning. When an unauthorised slums is fully evicted from a place, the first thing BMC should have done is to come up with concrete development programme such as gardening immediately,” said N. K. Panda, former chief secretary of the state and president Citizens’ Apex Association (CAA).

Mr. Panda said the dropping of eviction drive at this point was obvious that corporation and government were approaching elections. Any step could severely hamper their electoral prospects, he said.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Education is no more a dream for them
Village identified for resettlement
Doctors threaten to resign en masse
Dance exponent left in the lurch
Health matters
Hogging the limelight
Governor’s advice
Students gherao faculty
Sea erosion poses threat to Olive Ridleys
No breakthrough in Asima death case
Rain hits normal life in Cuttack
Rights groups raise voice against combing operations
Activist told to remove objectionable matter
BMC restrains from taking ‘unpleasant’ steps

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu