Friday, July 06, 2018

Probe into 'illegal' mall construction

The Telegraph India: Silchar: Friday, July 06, 2018.
An inquiry has been initiated into the allegation of an illegal construction of the fourth floor of Goldighi Municipal Mall, a shopping-cum-entertainment hub here.
A two-member team, including assistant director Shantanu Das and junior engineer B. Borgohain, of the drainage and sewerage division of the department of town and country planning, Guwahati, visited the mall on Wednesday evening and inspected the fourth floor, the multiplex, food joints and other stores.
Ranjan Roy, president of Adarsh, an NGO, who had raised the allegation and filed some pleas under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, last year, on Thursday said the team had discussed the matter with him on Wednesday.
He submitted various documents to the team to corroborate his charges.
Roy said he had told the team that there was no permission to construct the fourth floor. Besides, neither the Silchar Development Authority nor the department of town and country planning gave permission for that.
Roy claimed that the Silchar Municipal Board allowed an agency illegally to carry out construction on the fourth floor though there was no permission by the Silchar Development Authority or the department of town and country planning. The Authority had given permission for the construction of the basement and up to the third floor of the mall, he added.
Rajesh Das, secretary of the mall, said the team, apart from the fourth floor, inspected the entire complex, including its parking lot and other facilities. The team will submit a report to the department following which necessary steps would be taken, he added.
Dismissing Roy's allegation, Silchar Municipal Board chairperson Niharendra Narayan Tagore said the mall was built in November 2012, following a blueprint provided by the civic body and the plan allowed construction on the fourth floor.
The team discussed the issue with Tagore on Wednesday afternoon. It also met some officials of the Silchar Development Authority.
The team, however, did not speak to the media.