Dilapidated buildings in Walled City to get notice

JAIPUR: As part of its pre-monsoon related work, the Jaipur Municipal Corporation (JMC) will start issuing notices to buildings across the Walled City that are in extreme dilapidated conditions.

According to civic data, in Hawa Mahal east and west zones, there are more than 73 old buildings in dilapidated condition.

Following the directions of directorate of local bodies (DLB), the civic bodies will issue notice and direct the owners to evacuate these buildings.

The houses in the Walled City are more than 100-years-old but some of them are over 150 years, which are collectively known as Pink City. With time, more old buildings are being declared dilapidated in the absence of repair and maintenance.

Though, the notices will be issued, sources at JMC said, people do not take warning seriously and civic body lacks power to pull down these buildings forcefully.

“Every year, JMC issues notices to these people, but they do not take it seriously. Most of these buildings have a background of family disputes or are occupied by tenants. These people oppose demolition,” said a JMC source.

According to Rajasthan Municipal Act, the buildings should have precautionary warnings suggesting its likely collapse. The municipality is also empowered to demolish these buildings if they are about to collapse as per the analysis of engineers. However, in past not many buildings have been pulled down after making it vacant.

“Only buildings that collapsed on its own, were razed by the authorities. Also, majority of dilapidated buildings are under litigation, so JMC avoid taking action on such buildings” added source.

In the past the authorities failed to take action against these building owners and continuous incidents of accidents were reported. These buildings have become a major risk factor in narrow lanes as the residents continue to stay near dilapidated buildings. Durga Das, a resident of Indra Bazaar said, “We have intimated the authorities about the poor condition of the building and had requested it to be pulled down. However, it went unheeded,” he said.