Kaduna Govt To Demolish Houses Under High Tension Lines
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The Kaduna State government has concluded plans to demolish all illegal buildings erected under electricity high tension lines at Barkallahu community in Igabi Local Government Area of the state.
This followed the issuance of a seven-day notice to the occupants of affected structures by the Kaduna State Urban Planning and Development Authority (KASUPDA).
In a copy of the eviction notice dated November 5, 2019, and obtained by Channels Television, KASUPDA based its action on the state’s 1958 Township Building Rules and Environmental Protection Law of 2010.
The notice warned that violators of the eviction order would be dealt with.
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The Director-General of KASUPDA, Ismaila Dikko, also confirmed the planned demolition of the buildings numbering over 200 to Channels Television.
He explained that the government’s decision to demolish the illegal structures in Barkallahu community was to prevent disaster and restore the city’s original masterplan.
Dikko added that those with legal land titles have been compensated.
He, therefore, asked the occupants of the illegal structures to vacate the area within the stipulated period or have them pulled down.
Upon receiving the notice, some of the residents have begun to move out of their belonging from their homes while others have decided to remain there.
They claimed that the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), which was constructing new transmission lines, promised to pay them compensation or provide them with alternative land to build their new houses.
They condemned the proposed demolition of their houses and staged a peaceful protest against the government’s decision.
They also called on the government to provide them alternative land or give them more time to move out of the area.
The aggrieved residents took their protest to the Kaduna State office of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to seek its intervention in the matter.
Experts say the required setback for buildings from the centre-line of overhead wires and horizontal distance between such buildings is at least six metres for 11KV wire lines while the recommended distance for 33KV wire lines is nine metres.