VIJAYAWADA: Facing stiff opposition from the ruling party, the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) on Thursday decided against its initial plan of a massive demolition drive to do away with illegal constructions identified by the civic body.
The decision comes as a huge breather for builders who had been at loggerheads with the VMC for the past 15 days. The special teams have already demolished 20 unauthorised structures so far out of the 200 identified.
In a meeting held recently, the civic body decided to halt the demolition drive and let illegal builders get away with a mere 10 per cent fine based on registration value.
The civic chief directed officials to demolish illegal floors if the building owners failed to pay the imposed fine amount.
When contacted, municipal commissioner G Veerapandian said a majority of the illegal buildings identified by the officials were constructed on lands belonging to the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation before 2014, which do not cover under Building Penalisation Scheme (BPS). Instructions were given to officials to provide a detailed report on the status of buildings covered in the city under BPS scheme, he said.
The VMC has been receiving flak over the dumping of garbage in Ajith Singh nagar. The civic body is currently working on moving the dump to a village at the outskirts of the city as it is unable to acquire land, thanks to the steep rise in the rates of plots.
Protests by villagers has not detterd the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation from reconsidering its decision.