Bhubaneswar: In blatant violation of civic body norms, as many as 719 apartments, including 689 here, have been constructed illegally in various towns and cities of Odisha, Housing and Urban Development Minister (H&UD) Krushna Chandra Mohapatra told the Assembly Tuesday. Stating that a majority of the apartments are based in the City here, the minister said 689 apartments have already been served notices by the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA). The minister was replying to a question posed by Jeypore MLA Taraprasad Bahinipati.
According to reports, the number of illegally built apartments in the City has seen a sharp rise as it has crossed 200 in the past three years. On March 2021, replying to a question from MLA Taraprasad Bahinipati, then H&UD Minister Pratap Jena said Bhubaneswar has 487 illegally constructed high-rises of the total 1,643 approved ones.
Taking note of the discrepancies, BMC Commissioner Rajesh Pravakar Patil said a joint action by BMC and BDA would be undertaken after a thorough review of illegal constructions. However, he did not specify clearly whether the civic body would move in to demolish buildings that have not adhered to government norms.
DEBADURLLAV HARICHANDAN, OP