The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) for the first time ever sealed a residential tower – Classic Lakeview near the Kankaria football ground – as it lacked building-use (BU) permission.
On Monday, the AMC demolished three properties and sealed nine others that did not have permission from the BU. In May, the AMC began a sealing drive in response to the high court’s order, sealing 2,516 buildings, mostly commercial complexes, that did not have valid BU permission.
On Wednesday, thirty apartments in Classic Lakeview were sealed as this tower did not have BU approval. The high court ruled on November 29 that the authorities should demolish a few buildings to set an example, stating that it is preferable to evict people from their homes than to watch them burn to death.
The judges stated that prevention is better than cure, and that while the court does not wish to inconvenience residents, “any tears shed in the immediate wake of an untoward incident occurring would be of no avail as precious life cannot be brought back.”
AMC also sealed 34 flats in Shahpur and Dhalgarwad and demolished two illegal properties in Fatewadi, in addition to the apartment building in Kankaria.
The Gujarat high court ordered the state and civic authorities to take immediate and strict action against high-rises that lack either valid building-use permission or proper fire safety equipment, citing a series of fires that occurred since October last year.
“The next HC hearing is on December 23, and some buildings in Ahmedabad have yet to apply for BU permission or to be regularised. The government cannot propose a policy to address this issue unless the true number of such buildings is presented to the court “According to a senior AMC official in charge of town planning.