Bhubaneswar : The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) in a public notice has requested residents having plots/houses along 10 natural drainage channels across the city to come forward and co-operate in the development of the water channels.
In case the land is private, the owners should come forward and submit it to BMC for development of the drainage channel for efficient management of the storm water. Citizens can apply through a prescribed form for this, which is already uploaded on the BMC website. Compensation if any will be paid as decided by the commissioner. Existing construction on the drainage channel or development along the drain within the CDP area will never be regularised and might invite demolition in near future, said the BMC notice. Neither any plan approval will be given.
The notice also added that the civic body has decided to go for the renovation of the 10 major drainage channels following a detailed survey to ensure better drainage and no water-logging for which the drainage channels would play a pivotal role.
It can be mentioned here that the 10 natural drainage channels are the carriers of the storm water load, which ultimately goes to Gangua `nullah’, as the latter encircles the city and joins the Daya river, nearly 20 km away from the city.
Already the Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP-2030) had laid down the course of the 10 major natural drainage channels over the revenue land. Apart from the Government land, there are also private land, through which flow these channels. As the notification says, storm water drains will be constructed over the land of the natural drainage channels as per the provision of Section 288 of the Odisha Municipal Corporation Act, 2003. Under the provision of this Section 288, compensation will be paid as decided by the Municipal Commissioner.
As many houses were affected in the recent unprecedented rains, BMC hopes that the land owners staying near these drainage channels can submit the land portions to the State Government/civic body so that ultimately the entire area will be ready for the citizens to have better and safer environment to live-in.
Warning the land owners with plots/houses which are coming within the CDP area of the natural drainage channels, BMC Deputy Commissioner Srimanta Mishra said “all should come forward and apply to the Municipal Commissioner through the appropriate form so that in return they would get twin benefits i.e. compensation and a solution for their lifetime. All should grab the opportunity and act as soon as possible.’’
If any land owner will miss the occasion, he/she will never get the opportunity to have a building plan approval nor regularisation of any structure. “Rather, in future once the survey is over, all the illegal structures within the CDP area of the natural drainage channels, would face demolition orders as they are creating obstructions for the flow of rain water,’’ said a senior BMC official.
As the BMC and Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) have adopted the “Zero Tolerance Policy’’ over the encroachment near the banks of the channel or over it, deviations with respect to Master Plan drainage channels and other water channels would be viewed seriously in near future. Already the city authorities have initiated the process where the orders passed under Odisha Development Authority (ODA) Act, 1982, have been placed and structures demolished.
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