Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) buildings department will dispatch a team from borough IX to conduct physical inspections of several properties owned by Abhishek Banerjee in the Kalighat area. This inspection, mandated under KMC building regulations, aims to determine on-site whether any deviations from the sanctioned building plan have occurred.
Inspection Process and Hearing
According to a KMC official, based on the findings of the physical inspection, the owners of these properties will be summoned to a hearing at KMC headquarters. The hearing officer will then decide the fate of the buildings. “We will need to carry out a physical inspection. Based on the findings, the owners will be given an opportunity to appear before a hearing officer. The hearing officer will decide if the unauthorised portions will be demolished or regularised,” said a civic official.
Properties Under Scrutiny
A KMC source revealed that the team will visit the Shantiniketan building on Harish Mukherjee Road and another multi-storey building on Kalighat Road. These properties are either owned or co-owned by Banerjee, his family, or his company. Shantiniketan, where a notice was pasted on May 18 for alleged unauthorised construction, is among 17 properties under scrutiny by the civic body’s buildings wing.
Officials stated that notices under section 400 (1) of the KMC Act, 1980 — issued for deviations from the sanctioned plan — have been affixed at 17 addresses, including the two in Kalighat-Harish Mukherjee Road.
Background and Political Reaction
The KMC’s assessment department initially identified 42 properties allegedly owned or co-owned by Banerjee, later reduced to 17. In response, Banerjee vowed to fight back. At a meeting of TMC MLAs at Mamata Banerjee’s Kalighat home on May 20, he remarked: “Let them do whatever they want. Raze my home, send notice. I won’t bow down. Come what may, my fight continues against BJP.”
In the notice pasted on Shantiniketan, individuals concerned were directed to appear before the executive engineer of the buildings department with the sanctioned plan and a fresh drawing of alterations made. “Once the documents are submitted, we will give the owners an opportunity to appear for a hearing.” Abhishek sought additional time from KMC to reply to the notices.
However, the KMC buildings department later changed its stance, deciding to first physically inspect prime properties and then issue notices based on findings, said an official.
Additional Scrutiny
The civic body’s assessment collection wing has also initiated a process to reassess some of his properties, including Shantiniketan. Notices have been sent to these addresses, asking owners to furnish details.
