THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Unauthorised construction is mushrooming in the state capital, with the city corporation flooded with complaints. In a recent crackdown, the town planning wing under the corporation halted two major unauthorised constructions in the past two days, raising concerns. According to officials, the corporation received around 40 complaints of unauthorised construction in just two days. With complaints mounting, the civic body has intensified inspections and strengthened enforcement activities with police assistance.
Town planning committee chairman Pattoor Radhakrishnan said that the administration is trying to put an end to earlier practices of issuing stop memos without follow-up inspections.
“Earlier, when a complaint came, a stop memo was issued, and nobody looked back. That has changed now. If work continues after a stop memo, we will intervene again and ensure police presence and inspections,” he said. The civic body has received around 40 complaints on unauthorised construction happening across several parts of the city, including Karamana, Vanchiyoor, Nandavanam, Palayam, Kunnukuzhy and Kannammoola. Radhakrishnan said that a ward-level survey needs to be launched to map illegal constructions.
“Illegal structures are everywhere. There are encroachments on roads, compound walls and drainage channels.
We have changed our approach, and police assistance is intended to prevent builders who continue construction by ignoring notices and stop memos from the corporation,” he said. He said that procedural lapses have hampered demolition of illegal structures. “The violators often approach court and manage to get the stay orders, and our counsel is weak. Legal loopholes are a major problem. The civic body’s legal follow-up is weak.
The corporation’s advocates are sometimes briefed only shortly before hearings, leaving little scope for effective preparation. Many cases have been lost because of this. We are planning to form an expert panel of advocates to handle such cases,” said Radhakrishnan.
