With discrepancies cropping up in the claims submitted for compensation, residents of the houses damaged due to the tunnel boring work for the East West Metro corridor in Bowbazar will now have to submit a declaration to Kolkata Metro Railway Corporation Limited (KMRCL) while claiming their compensation.
In the declaration, the applicants would have to state that he/she is the head of the family and furnish his/her address including the house number. If data furnished by the applicant is found to be incorrect then legal action would be taken against him/her apart from taking back the compensation amount.
The move came after discrepancies were noticed in 112 out of 230 applications seeking compensation.
KMRCL had to order stop payment on a compensation cheque given to an applicant in the first phase of the compensation distribution process after it was revealed that three members of the same family had claimed to be the head of the family.
“We have received a total of 230 applications claiming compensation but it is not possible for us to verify their details. Thus, KMRCL is now seeking help from police and local councillor to verify the details of the claimants,” said Manas Sarkar, GM, KMRCL.
This apart, several other discrepancies have risen in the distribution of compensation within a week of the start of the process. To streamline the process, KMRCL has decided to first obtain a declaration from the applicants, following which a verification of details would be done by police and only after receiving clearance from police and the local councillor would the process for cheque disbursement be started. Compensation amounts of Rs 5 lakh each have already been handed over to 94 people in four phases.
KMRCL officials today held a meeting with mayor and state urban development and municipal affairs minister Firad Hakim at Nabanna.
“The situation has been completely arrested. The water seepage problem that had been persisting has been solved. There is water settlement of about one to two mm in a day but this too would be stopped very soon,” said Mr Sarkar after the meeting.
The Building Survey Committee has inspected 17 more buildings today. A total of 35 buildings have been inspected by the committee so far. Of these 35 buildings, 20 buildings are found to have been damaged beyond repair.
The survey will continue and the committee is expected to give its report within a few days. KMRCL officials rued that the demolition process is slow as the area is very narrow as a result of which demolition equipment cannot be deployed properly.
A senior official said that process is on to identify cracks that have developed in buildings following commencement of the tunnelling work.
Once the building committee submits its report, we will be able to know about the new cracks that have developed, he said. Eighty evacuees would be rehabilitated to Black Burn Lane near Poddar Court. Arrangements for water and electricity are expected to be completed within 15 days.
Evacuees including business units are likely to be rehabilitated by the pujas, said an official. The process for relocation is underway. While the evacuees are now in hotels, KMRCL is in search of flats to accommodate them.
Most people want to be accommodated in the same area but as there are no flats in the area, other locations are being assessed.