Shopkeepers say AMC lets off crooked builders.
Standing at the first floor of Nirav Complex in Usmanpura, shopkeeper Ramesh Patel watched helplessly, even as furniture from his shop was being brought down and adjusted in to a tempo.
The small shop, the only source of income for Patel to support his family of four with, was termed by the civic body as an 'illegal construction' and was pulled down on Wednesday morning.
Patel, who ran a share-broking firm from his shop in the cellar of the said building, is one of 56 shop owners whose shops were pulled down by the AMC. The reason cited was illegal construction in the cellar, an area originally meant as parking space for the building.
The AMC is on a drive to demolish illegal constructions in the city, and structures that have been constructed by compromising on cellars initially kept as parking spaces. The decision to conduct the drive comes on the heels of the recommendations made by the Kamal Mehta committee.
AMC's estate department officials cleared a 1030 square metre space occupied by 56 shops in the cellar of Nirav complex, on Wednesday. And shop owners like Patel are an agitated lot.
"I had taken a loan to buy my shop, and have been paying the AMC's property tax for 22 years now. Besides, after the earthquake, we also paid them the impact fee they demanded. Now, after collecting all sorts of taxes for 22 years, they're calling our shops illegal and pulling them down," ranted Patel.
The main question for him now, is how to get his business going again. "How will I be able to buy a new shop, with the kind of realty prices prevailing at the moment? And if I don't earn, how will I pay my children's college fees?" he demands.
The AMC's estate department, on its part, says they have been issuing notices to the shop owners about illegal constructions for some time now. In fact, they were given a notice to vacate these places by June 30. But Patel, who is also the chairman of a shopkeepers' association, says the AMC should also catch hold of the builders who sold them these illegal constructions.
"Why is the AMC not taking action against its own officials who cleared the plan of this building, and did not notice the illegal constructions?" he asks.
Ramanlal Bhogilal is another victim. A tailor by profession, he had bought one more shop in the cellar a year back.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}