Kolkata, June 27 (IANS) The drive to evict hawkers illegally occupying space on roads and pavements throughout West Bengal has been suspended for a month, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced on Thursday.
The drive started on Tuesday. “For a month there will be no eviction drive. I am asking the roadside hawkers to arrange their items during that period. During the interim period, the survey work by the government agencies will continue. The state government will see to it that the hawkers are provided alternate space for business. If necessary the state government will arrange warehouses for them. But under no circumstance the state government will allow businesses encroaching on public roads,” the Chief Minister said during an administrative meeting with the top bureaucrats and police officers of the state, including the district magistrates and district police superintendents.
Speaking on the occasion, she also explained why the eviction drive has started this week. “I am not against the hawkers. But what I am doing is because of the beautification of the places. I request the hawkers to cooperate with the state government in this beautification initiative. The state government will fully cooperate with you in rehabilitation,” the Chief Minister said.
In the meeting, she also issued a note of caution for the government contractors engaged in public works, especially, those related to road construction and road repairs.
“Once a new road is constructed or an existing road is repaired, they should be in intact condition for the next five years. Otherwise, the contractors concerned will be blacklisted. The illegal buildings will be taken over by the state government. Dilapidated buildings will also be taken over if not repaired in time,” the Chief Minister said.
The opposition BJP has described the eviction drive more as an act of political vengeance rather than with the motive of streamlining things or beautification. According to the Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, such eviction drives had only been in those pockets where there had been significant erosion in the ruling party’s vote bank in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, a petition was filed at the Calcutta High Court’s single-judge bench of Justice Amrita Sinha seeking the court’s intervention in the hawker eviction drive.
However, instead of accepting the petition, Justice Sinha advised the petitioner to file public interest litigation (PIL) in the matter at the division headed by Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam.
–IANS
src/dpb
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by TodayIndia.news and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of TodayIndia.news We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, TodayIndia.news takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
