Aurangabad, Nov 9:
The anti-encroachment squad of Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) today demolished few illegal ''pucca'' constructions on the road proposed to be built under the City Development Plan at Padegaon.
Under the development plan, the civic body proposed to construct roads in many parts of the city like Padegaon, Mitmita, Bhausinghpura, Jatwada Road, Harsul Tank, Pisadevi Road, Naregaon, Chikalthana, Paithan Road etc. It had also granted certificates of transfer of development rights (TDR) to the owner, whose land was acquired by it, in large numbers. However, the AMC failed to build a single road in the past 20 years. Hence the land mafia took advantage of the negligence and made money. The AMC remained as the owner of acquired lands on the paper. Misusing this, land mafia benefitted by marking plots in Padegaon and other parts of the city. They marked plots (of 30 x 20 feet size) on the land (which had been acquired by AMC) and also sold it out to make fast bucks. In the hope of getting land at an affordable price, the poor and needy people bought the plots, constructed their houses upon it, unaware of the cheating done to them.
The AMC demolished the concrete structure of citizens Satdive and Khandagale, built on land bearing gut number 62. The anti-encroachment squad, during the lockdown period, had told them not to construct on the said plots as they are marked on a 12 metres wide road proposed to be built under the development plan. When they took the warning for granted, the AMC squad demolished the slab on Monday. However, the AMC is claiming that they are not aware of who had marked the plotting on DP road.
Earlier, the newspaper had published news highlighting illegal marking of plots in Padegaon and Mitmita. However, the AMC did not build roads in the last 20 years. The land mafia took advantage of it. The AMC''s town planning section and the anti-encroachment squad are accused of turning their backs towards it due to ''economic'' reasons. This intentional act of the administration was indirectly supporting the land mafia.