The East Zone has 25% of Ahmedabad’s total illegal constructions.
Curious though it may seem, the areas in which civic development was vigilantly supervised by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) — currently engaged in a demolition campaign — are the sites of the highest number of illegal constructions.
The unlawful structures in these areas outstrip those in the newly merged precincts.
Among the zones of the city, the East Zone is crammed with the maximum number of unauthorised structures, 5,506; the city’s tally is 20,032.
Together, the illegal constructions in the New West Zone (344) and West Zone (2,996) account for 3,340 structures. The East Zone consists of areas such as Nikol, Ramol, and Odhav. The West Zone includes Paldi, Vasna, Navrangpura, and Old and New Wadaj.
The AMC’s current demolition drive across the city has been spurred by a high court order. The municipal corporation has issued notices to owners of around 20,032 buildings across the city. On the third day of the demolition drive, on Thursday, the area cleared by the AMC was 996 square metres, said the deputy municipal commissioner for estate department, UC Padia. On Wednesday, the AMC freed around 1,300 square metres.
Illegal residential constructions (10,340) top the chart of unlawfully built structures. These are followed by the structures built for commercial purposes (6,300), and those meant for industrial operations (1,752).
Strangely, commercial taxes were collected by the civic body from the owners of the illegal structures. “There is no connection between charging commercial tax and being aware of the fact that the buildings in question were illegal,” Padia said. “Demolishing illegal constructions is not that easy. In some parts of the city the process has been halted.”
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