This announcement was made by the deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi in the state Assembly on Wednesday, while replying to a Call Attention Notice served by members of different parties––Lalit Kumar Yadav, Rajesh Singh, Akhtarul Iman, Brij Kishore Singh––and after labour resources department minister Janardan Singh Sigriwal sought time to give the government’s reply as urban development minister Prem Kumar was in the Legislative Council.

Earlier, Lalit Yadav of RJD pleaded with the Speaker that he should himself seek detailed reply and documents from the government to give his ruling on the matter related to gross violation of norms by the construction firms. The members were pacified only after the Speaker gave the ruling that the urban development department would submit the probe report to him.

The Speaker then said he would pass the report to the members concerned.

The Call Attention Notice referred to the apartments coming up in congested areas in flagrant violation of the Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) rules. While the rules say that apartments should be constructed only along roads not less than 20 feet wide, they have come up in lanes as narrow as just eight feet. Besides, the builders were also raising the building heights beyond the sanctioned floors (G+3 or +4).

The apartments mentioned in the Notice are Mukherjee Enclave, Sundari Apartment Nandi Vatika Apartment, and Nandan Kanan Apartment in the Dheerachak, Bengali Tola, Road No 40 localities of Gardanibagh. In the same way, apartments are also coming up in the congested localities of Boring Road, Mandiri, Beur, Raja Bazar and Phulwarisharif by several builders, including Kanuadia Constructions and Nutan Construction.

The Notice alleged that norms are being violated by builders in collusion with officials of the Patna Municipal Corporation.