Civic body cracks down on footpath encroachers
1,024 footpath encroachments removed in one day
The GHMC set something of a record by removing 1,024 footpath encroachments in a single day. The target is to remove 4,133 encroachments on footpaths in 48 stretches of road totalling 127.5 km in five days. On several occasions in the recent past, the High Court had directed the corporation to remove encroachments. The drives conducted were not up to expectation.
The GHMC, after several brainstorming sessions with minister K.T. Rama Rao decided to constitute an independent enforcement wing to remove encroachments which on Saturday achieved the remarkable feat. The massive task was accomplished by six teams, one for each zone consisting of 20 officials and staff equipped with JCBs, vehicles for debris removal. The drive was conducted in coordination with the traffic and law and order police official. The encroachments removed included 822 permanent or immovable structures and 202 movable encroachments like push cart vendors.
Mr Viswajit Kampati, director of the Enforcement, Vigilance and Disaster Management wing told this newspaper that the drive had received an overwhelming response from the public. He said that the GHMC had only concentrated on permanent encroachments on the first day. Each team was allotted eight road stretches, totalling 48 stretches on Day 1. He said that the the drive would ensure pedestrians’ right to walk on footpaths.
Asked about commercial establishments or vendors re-encroaching footpaths, Mr Kampati, said the corporation would cancel the building permission for residential complexes and trade licence of commercial buildings if their occupants encroached on footpaths. He said properties would be seized in both cases. Mr Kampati said the corporation would not provide any rehabilitation to permanent encroachers but would accommodate push-cart vendors and hawkers in the vending zones earmarked at several locations in the city.
He said the hawkers and push cart vendors would be immediately shifted to green zones and the issue had been discussed with Mr Rama Rao, who had instructed the urban community development wing to expedite the process.