CUTTACK: Days after being elected deputy mayor of Cuttack, Damayanti Majhi faces eviction heat with the Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) issuing notice against unauthorised constructions at Balisahi slum in Jagatpur area under ward no 49 of Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC).
Damayanti stays in the same slum with her mother. Sources said after her appointment as deputy mayor, a pucca house with a boundary wall is being constructed for her in the slum. Following this, some other neighbours too have started expanding their encroached premises. Around 50 families are residing in the slum for the last several years.
IDCO has now put up an eviction notice on the walls of their houses including Majhi’s a couple of days back. As many as six to seven families including Damayanti have been asked to remove the illegal constructions by May 10. The eviction will facilitate the construction of a drain to solve the persistent waterlogging problem of the Jagatpur Industrial Estate.
“The land where the slum exists belongs to IDCO. Due to growing encroachment, we have not been able to provide basic facilitates to MSME units here. Some of the residents have grabbed acres of land, while some others have even rented out the encroached land to third parties,” said IDCO divisional head Parikhita Mahalik.
‘We have issued eviction notice to 143 persons including Damayanti’s mother to recover the encroached land for developmental works including construction of drainage and sewerage system, workers’ hostel both for male and female, liquid waste treatment plant, vending zone, etc.,’ he said.
CMC dy mayor gets IDCO’s eviction notice
If the encroachers fail to vacate the encroached land within May 10, then ID CO will be forced to remove the illegal construction and encroachments, he added. “After the eviction, we will construct a boundary wall to restrict trespassers. Apart from this, it has been also planned to deploy Odisha Industrial Security Force (OISF) like (CISF) on the entry and exit points,” Mahalik said.
Mayor Subhash Singh, meanwhile, said a quarter was allotted to Damayanti, but she wanted to live in the slum. He said he has held a discussion with IDCO authorities to carry out the drain work by exempting the deputy mayor’s house. “There is no chance of eviction of any slum without the consent of CMC as the civic body is the enforcement agency.
First, we will hold a discussion with the slum dwellers about their relocation and rehabilitation and then the process of eviction will be taken up,” said Singh. While the deputy mayor did not give any comments on the issue, CMC Commissioner Ananya Das said that IDCO as per its regular drive has issued a notice for the development of its area. However, IDCO has not informed CMC about it, Das said adding she would look into the matter.