Kolkata Municipal Corporation is working on a new law for owners of “unsafe” buildings in Kolkata to take up basic responsibility and to prevent accidents.
Those who fail to conform to the law may have to serve five years’ imprisonment and/or pay fine up to Rs. 1 lakh (if they fail to carry out basic renovation work of unsafe buildings of which they are in charge). The new law is to replace the existing municipal law of 1980.
A proposal for a new law was raised at a meeting on Friday. Under the new law, KMC will hold either the owner of building or the occupants responsible to carry out the renovation work as applicable. In a recently published report, KMC has identified 2,500 buildings in Kolkata as unsafe, 300 of which have been marked as extremely unsafe or dangerous.
The municipal body authorities have asked owners of these 300 buildings –marked “extremely dangerous” or “unsafe”, to demolish the entire structures, failing which they will be fined.
Besides, owners of those 2,500 buildings which have been identified as “unsafe” have been directed to restore the damaged parts of the buildings and to ensure the safety of its residents or tenants, failing which they will be fined a sum of Rs. 50,000.
