An anti-encroachment drive initiated by the Brahmapur Development Authority (BDA) for beautification of the city and tackling its traffic congestion woe seems to have gone to the cold storage. According to information available, the orders of the Ganjam Collector to identify the exact number of illegal buildings and compound walls constructed by builders, businessmen and private parties on encroached land in the city remain unheeded by the BDA authorities deliberately to appease the voters and satisfy vested interests. Such illegal constructions and encroachments on Government/BMC/BDA and even in Royati land by the builders and private parties at Brahmapur are so rampant that the enforcement agency is not only scared to evict them, but providing them protection, confided sources.
Though the enforcement agency often uses bulldozer to demolish the small roadside tea stalls, breakfast booths, road side temples and vegetable shops in the name of beautification and widening of the roads, but it is unable to demolish multistoried buildings, apartments, illegal compound walls, private educational institutions, cinema halls, restaurants, go-downs, reportedly constructed illegally by influential persons and builders on the main roads and posh locations of the city, giving rise to traffic congestion.
Similarly, the sale of vegetables, fruits, fast foods and tea stalls on both sides of the main roads in key areas like Kamapalli-Goilundi road, Giri market, Gate Bazar square, Sano Bazar, Bada Bazar-Rajbati road, Dalua Sahi-Bhapur Bazar and Gandhinagar adds to the problem of traffic congestion. Notably, Brahmapur city which is having more than four lakh population is an educational, commercial, and cultural hub of the entire south Odisha. It has a large number of commercial establishments for which thousands of people from hundreds of adjoining villages visit the city every day with varied purposes. But most Government land which is to be used for the construction of the road is reportedly under encroachment violating the provisions of Building Regulation Act.
For instance, several builders have constructed multistoried building in different parts of the city without providing parking facilities, drainage system and without planting trees and constructing pucca approaching road to the apartment. Sources also said that many of the builders have constructed their apartment without obtaining permission from the BDA for the required number of floors. So also they have built up compound walls on encroached land. Neither the district administration nor the BDA has evolved any mechanism to monitor the quality of such construction and encroachment of land at regular intervals. In many places, the boundary walls of hotel and restaurant complex and cinema halls have been built up by encroaching Government land.
According to information available, the boundary wall of a leading hotel in old bus stand has reportedly been built upon encroached public land, but the district administration including the Revenue authorities and local authorities like BMC and BDA do not dare to touch the wall as the owner is close to the ruling party.
Similar encroachments of public land have also been made by the same businessman in Gandhinagar Main Road. According to a resident of Gandhinagar, who did not wish to be identified, a patch of land has been encroached by another well known businessman of the city near DAV School who could manage to get the land mutated in his name and currently has let out the land on rent due to sheer negligence of the BMC authorities.
Earlier, the South Odisha Development Council Chief had demanded for construction of a public library-cum-reading room in that land. But most of the portions of Government land which is to be used for widening of the road are under encroachment. Similarly, the district administration seems to be quite soft on such builders and encroachers who dump debris and construction materials on the roads and drains for years causing public inconvenience.
Another major drawback of the BDA and BMC in regard to eviction is that once the illegal constructions are demolished and encroachers are evicted, it does not resort to post -eviction follow-ups such as cleaning of the area, removal of debris and widening of the road for public use. As a result, the encroachers re-occupy their position after some time, thereby making the eviction a sheer eye wash.
It may be mentioned here that, while presiding in the meeting of the BDA on February 7 last, district Collector Prem Chand Choudhury had directed the BDA to identify all Government land under encroachments and illegal constructions made by the builders, hoteliers, educational institutions, businessmen, and private parties in the city. He had advised to constitute a committee to be headed by the BDA Secretary for taking further action, but no tangible action in this regard has yet been taken on the pretext of non availability of supporting field staff like Amin.