Bhubaneswar: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has sought the help of Infocity police to stop construction work at a private apartment project in Nandan Vihar area, terming the ongoing activity “unauthorised” and flagging the possibility of a law-and-order situation.In a letter to the inspector in-charge of Infocity police station on Saturday, BMC’s north zone office stated that despite repeated instructions and enforcement attempts, construction at one phase of the apartment project at Kalarahanga has continued.The civic body alleged that its enforcement squad faced strong resistance from private security personnel deployed by the developer, making it difficult to stop the work on its own.The move comes after BMC issued a stop-construction notice on March 18 to the developer based on residents’ complaints. In its notice, the civic body had directed the developer to halt construction forthwith and submit compliance report to the allegations.BMC has requested police assistance now to enforce the order and prevent any escalation on the ground.According to official communication, the building plan for the Phase-II project, which was allegedly approved by Bhubaneswar Development Authority on Feb 17, 2023, expired this year on Feb 16. BMC also pointed out that construction was being carried out despite the project’s RERA registration being rejected in Jan. The developer also failed to fulfill mandatory conditions, including provision of 20% visitor parking as stipulated in the original approval, the civic body stated.The issue was brought to the BMC’s notice following complaints from the residents’ welfare association, which alleged that the developer had not taken mandatory consent of existing allottees for expansion or modification of the project.Residents also flagged safety concerns due to the use of heavy vehicles and large-scale excavation in a residential area, posing risks to children and senior citizens. They forwarded a fresh complaint to BMC’s municipal commissioner last week.“We are genuinely facing issues because of the developer’s activities. Despite receiving a stop-construction notice, the developer has openly violated the norms by continuing the construction work,” Dilip Kumar Rout, secretary of the residents’ association, said.
