Tenancy Act has tied our hands: KMC officials

Kolkata, June 19 Rajendra Kumar Shaw had requested his neighbour Robin Ghosh numerous times to repair the dilapidated century old building. On Tuesday night, Shaw lost his life after part of the building owned by Ghosh collapsed on his shanty due to torrential rains. His son Debchand Shaw was critically injured and is still battling for his life in NRS Medical College.

The incident is not the first one, in the past two years, 18 people have lost their lives in building collapse. “There are close to 1,500 buildings that have been listed as ‘unsafe’ by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. Most of these buildings are located in north and central Kolkata in Borough 4 and 5,” said Gorachand Mondol, director general, buildings.

KMC officials, however, claim that their hands are tied by the Tenancy Act. The act does not allow the owners of such buildings to ask their tenants to vacate the building. “Even when we are all set to pull down a building, the owner comes to us with a stay order from the court,” said an official.

Most of these buildings are disputed properties and thus they are seldom repaired or renovated. “We cannot just pull down a building on humanitarian grounds,” said Member Mayor-in-Council Dipankar De.

One and a half months after the civic body announced an incentive package for owners of unsafe buildings to reconstruct their properties, only 30 parties have shown interest. Reconstruction is not a viable option for the owners, as the tenants have to be accommodated in new buildings.