In a welcome move, West Bengal Urban Development and Municipal Affairs (UDMA) Minister Agnimitra Paul said that the state government is considering paying compensation on humanitarian grounds to 87 shopkeepers whose establishments were damaged during the demolition drive carried out by the Asansol Municipal Corporation (AMC) on Friday.
“The government would assess the losses suffered by the affected hawkers before the Durga Puja season and was also working on rehabilitating them by shifting them to alternative locations,” the Asansol Dakshin MLA said.
The controversy began earlier this week against the backdrop of chief minister Suvendu Adhikari’s directive that no demolition drive against hawkers should be carried out anywhere in the state until after the Durga Puja festivities.
The chief minister had said the livelihoods of thousands of families’ dependent on roadside vending should not be disrupted ahead of the festive season, even though many hawkers had illegally encroached upon roads and government land.
On Wednesday, amid administrative changes, the elected civic board of the Asansol Municipal Corporation was dissolved by the UDMA Department where IAS officer and ADDA Chief Executive Officer Aditi Choudhury was appointed as the administrator of the civic body.
The following day, Thursday, Agnimitra Paul attended a ‘Mukhomukhi’ programme in the presence of Paschim Bardhaman District Magistrate S. Ponnamballam, senior officers of the Asansol Durgapur Police Commissionerate and the newly appointed administrator.
Later, she inspected the encroachments along both sides of the busy G.T. Road in Asansol’s main market area.
Later that evening, the civic authorities issued a public announcement through loudspeakers asking the encroachers to vacate the area within 15 days.
However, events took a dramatic turn on Friday afternoon when civic officials launched a demolition drive in the same area.
Congress and CPI(M) leaders demanded compensation for those whose shops and goods were damaged and blocked the G.T. Road, accusing the administration of acting arbitrarily.
Addressing the controversy on Sunday, Paul acknowledged that the demolition had taken place prematurely due to what she described as a communication failure within the civic administration.
“We had given a notice on July 9 giving 15 days’ time to hawkers encroaching on the roads to clear the pavements. There was some miscommunication and on July 10 the demolition took place. As the roadside stalls were demolished without notice, we take the responsibility and are working on how to rehabilitate the hawkers,” the minister said.
She said the government had already identified two alternative locations where the displaced hawkers could be shifted and that the administration would complete an assessment of the losses suffered by the 87 affected shop owners before Durga Puja to determine compensation on humanitarian grounds.
“So far as the demolition is concerned, we have issued showcause notices and an internal enquiry is going on. If anyone is found guilty, we will not spare them,” Paul added.
The minister also confirmed that the UDMA Department had served show-cause notices to three senior AMC officials for allegedly carrying out the demolition without obtaining approval from the state government.
An internal inquiry has been initiated to determine how the operation was undertaken despite the Chief Minister’s directive and the 15-day notice issued only a day earlier.
Local MLA Krishnendu Mukherjee has threatened to lodge an FIR over the demolition following the public backlash, alleging that the drive was conducted in violation of government instructions.