Promotioners of illegal construction in Shantinagar are subject to penalties by the Calcutta High Court.

KOLKATA: Two promoters of an unlawful G+4 building at Shantinagar in Salt Lake’s ward 35 were hit with a penalty of Rs 1 crore by the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday. They were also ordered to provide their bank account information, income tax reports, and a list of their own assets by April 12.

The HC also ordered the demolition of the construction by Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC) within 30 days and instructed the occupants of the illegal property to leave the premises right away. BMC has been informed that the building’s connections to the water and electricity must be cut off right away.

A BMC committee report urging the court to take a lenient stance because the demolition would make the building’s inmates—all of whom come from low-income backgrounds—homeless was something Justice Amrita Sinha disagreed with. The committee’s proposals could not be approved, the court ruled, considering the prisoners’ safety and security.

“In light of the Garden Reach incident, we need to be stricter.”

Judge Amrita Sinha disagreed with a BMC committee report that asked the court to show sympathy for the building’s residents, stating that “sympathy cannot be a factor while passing an order in terms of law.” The developer has acknowledged that the building was built without authorization. There’s nothing else to do but order BMC to tear down the unauthorized building.”

“We have to be stricter after the Garden Reach incident,” she continued. The HC did not reject the attorneys’ demands that the promoters should pay the occupants; the case will be heard again on April 16. Judge Sinha’s ruling, which instructed the promoters to pay the Rs. 1 crore fine with the HC registrar general as a “security deposit,” offered a hint about this.

Judge Sinha made it plain that the promoters were prohibited from “selling, transferring, and alienating their property” until the high court resolved the matter, even as she asked them to provide their financial information.

The high court further ordered BMC to put the promoters on a blacklist, refuse to approve any building designs they submit, and permit any work they undertake.