ROURKELA: The land controversy has landed Rourkela Chamber of Commerce & Industry (RCCI) in more trouble. The Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC) has stopped construction of the third floor of its building following disclosure that RCCI is carrying out expansion work without an approved building plan.
In August, RMC Commissioner Dibyajyoti Parida had issued a show cause notice asking the RCCI to submit land records and approved building plan failing which the unauthorised structure would be demolished and cost recovered from it.
Sources said in 1992, the Land Allotment Committee (LAC) had allotted about 50 decimals vide Khata No.21 under Rourkela Town Unit (RTU) -44 to RCCI on application. However, it recently came to notice that the office stands on another plot under Khata No.24 of the town unit. Surprisingly, for past 29 years none took notice of the anomaly and several renovations and construction activities were carried out unhindered.
Citing RTI replies from RMC and RDA, former Secretary of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee Rashmi Ranjan Padhi said neither was the building plan approved nor did RCCI take permission before expanding the building. Moreover, the LAC proceeding cites that in 1996, the then tehsildar had noted the plot anomaly but even then, RCCI was allowed to deposit land premium and interest of `3.25 lakh between 1996 and 2004.
However, dismissing the charges, RCCI President Praveen Garg claimed the building stands on the actual plot allotted to the body. He reasoned out that the Khata number of the RCCI’s plot changed to 24 after surrender of adjacent land by the Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) to the State government and this does not reflect in the records.
Garg further pointed out that when the building was constructed, building plan approval was not strict under the Rourkela Regional Improvement Trust (now the RDA), and most individual or organisational buildings of that time faced the same problem. RCCI is taking corrective measures, he said.