The Dibrugarh district administration’s inaction against the construction of a high-rise building in waterlogged Jibon Phukan Nagar has irked the residents of the area.
The citizens of Jibon Phukan Nagar have expressed dissatisfaction over the functioning of Dibrugarh DC’s office as the office has not taken any step even after several pleas have been filed against the construction of the building.
On behalf of the citizens of Jibon Pukan Nagar and adjoining areas, Soumitro Dass filed a PIL on March 7, 2019, opposing the construction of a multi-storied building at Dr Mahendra Borah Path of Jibon Phukan Nagar.
According to the petitioner, the high-rise building will create massive problems for the residents of Jibon Pukan Nagar, which is a waterlogged area.
Dass requested Dibrugarh deputy commissioner Pallav Gopal Jha’s intervention into the matter.
“Despite several pleas to deputy commissioner Pallav Gopal Jha to intervene into the matter and stop the construction work of the multi-storied building in the area, his office remains quiet regarding the matter,” alleged a resident of Jibon Phukan Nagar.
The owner of the building is former DIG, PK Dutta, who is the prime accused in the Assam Police sub-inspector written test’s question paper leak case.
PK Dutta is still absconding.
It has been alleged that PK Dutta illegally started the construction of the building without prior permission from the authorities.
“Jibon Phukan Nagar is a waterlogged area and the area is severely affected during monsoon. But even after knowing the matter, we don’t know why the concerned department gave permission to PK Dutta to construct the multi-storied building in the area,” said Soumitro Dass, a resident of Jibon Phukan Nagar, who had filed the PIL.
“We requested deputy commissioner Pallav Gopal Jha to address our problem, but he has not taken any corrective measure to stop the construction work,” said Dass.
“I have questioned the concerned department how they gave permission to construct the high-rise building in our area without discussing with the residents as he did not have any no objection certificate,” said Dass.
“I have asked the department to show me the documents how the person got permission to construct the building in a highly seismic zone. But the concerned department has failed to show me any documents till now,” Dass added.
On July 15, 2019, the deputy director of the Town and Country Planning, Dibrugarh, wrote a letter to Soumitro Dass saying that due to non-availability of the file in Dibrugarh Municipal Board office, the “undersigned is not in a position to provide the information”.
The residents alleged that they had requested deputy commissioner Jha to hold a meeting regarding the matter but he has not accepted their request.
“We strongly oppose construction of any high-rise building in the area as it will adversely affect the abysmally inadequate drainage system of the area,” said Dass.
“Such construction should not be permitted until a proper drainage system is put in place in the aforementioned area and the residents of the area are satisfied that problem of waterlogging is completely eradicated with no scope of recurrence,” Dass added.
“The construction site is just 100 metre away from the Dibrugarh DC’s office and after repeated requests from the residents of the area the DC’s office has not paid any attention to their request,” said a senior resident of the area.