Over 50 structures razed in IMC anti-encroachment drive

INDORE: Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) on Monday removed encroachments from Somani Nagar on Airport Road.
More than 50 structures, mostly parts of houses, were removed from road. Officials said that while the houses in the area were legal, most of them had extended their boundary walls till the green belt.
“We had received complaints about these encroachments and had warned them to remove them.However, they did not heed the instruction,” said Virendra Upadhyaya, IMC official.
Officials reached the place around 12 pm. Fearing the IMC’s big machines would cause more damage, most residents started demolishing the illegal structures on their own. The drive continued for around 3 hours.
Officials said the debris from the area would be cleaned soon. Officials also instructed residents not to make any construction in the area to avoid strict action.
The civic body was expecting protests from owners of the houses. However, no major brawl was reported. IMC has been carrying out large scale demolition drives for the last few months.
More than 45 residential buildings were torn down in Gadi Adda last week. The civic body has also issued notices to people living in Bada Ganpati and Rajmohalla road. Parts of more than 200 houses would be demolished by the civic body.
While the civic body has not yet confirmed the date of demolition drive, sources said it might take place next week. The civic body has been carrying out anti-encroachment drives in in the green belt of the city. Areas like Scheme 54, Palasiya and LIG have already been cleared.
Officials said they were keeping a vigil of all green belts in the city and that they would not let any encroachment take place.