Kuldip Narayan had taken action against 472 buildings in Patna

The suspension of Patna Municipal Commissioner late on Friday night is likely to snowball into a major controversy.

While the Patna High Court has expressed “surprise and shock”, the State IAS association has condemned the move and the BJP has blamed the government for succumbing to the pressure of builders and land mafia.

Kuldip Narayan was suspended for laxity in discharge of his duties. The Patna High Court had directed the State government to not remove him from his post till the disposal of cases related to the growth of illegal constructions of apartments and shopping malls.

Mr Narayan, a 2005 batch IAS officer, had taken action against 472 illegal buildings and apartments in Patna by sealing or demolishing encroachments. He actions followed the High Court’s direction on a PIL filed by Narayan Mishra on the mushrooming of illegal high-rise buildings and apartments in Patna.

Mr. Narayan had recently sealed two top floors of the newly constructed Patna Central Mall, in the heart of the city, owned by a ruling party MLA from Mokama, Anant Singh. This mall was inaugurated with much fanfare by the MLA despite a ban on its construction.

Several other buildings and apartments constructed by builders allegedly associated with the ruling party in one way or the other had to bear the brunt of actions by the PMC commissioner.

According to rough estimates, Patna has seen the mushrooming of over 2000 apartments and shopping malls within a 15 km radius in the last 10 years. The PMC commissioner had initiated vigilance cases against 472 such illegal buildings and landowners for the violation of building bylaws.