Nand Lal visited Ulhasnagar on Saturday, where he inspected some of the controversial buildings. ``I have ordered that all the structures which have been directly or indirectly built by corporators or political leaders should be the first to go,'' Nand Lal told Express Newsline. ``This will have a demonstrative effect on the other owners as well.''

Accordingly, on the chopping block are: The wall unauthorisedly built by Shiv Sena corporator Rajinder Singh Bhullar around the UMC's 6,000 sq yard plot no 618 at Camp 1, the Shivam shopping complex, an unnamed two-storeyed building opposite Sewa Niketan hospital in Camp 2, commercial premises promoted by Naryan Punjabi (Independent) in Camp 3, a two storeyed shopping complex near Sapna gardenand a commercial shed at Officers' Transit section in Camp 2 belonging to Ram Parwani Charlie (Bharatiya Janata Party), a four-storeyed building built on an unauthorisedly demolished UMC toilet block in Khemani at Camp 2 owned by Berumal Wadhwa - the father of Ulhasnagar People's Party corporator Girdhari Wadhwa, the third and fourth floors of Ramesh Rijwani's (Congress) building at Sector 17 in camp 3 and the four-storeyed Saidarshan society at Camp 4 built by Sena leader Vinod Thakur.

Nand Lal later met the corporators involved, and asked for assurances that they would not create roadblocks to the demolition work. The corporators reportedly stated that they would co-operate with him.

``We hope to weed out the root of all problems in the township. The litigations being resorted to by citizens, the corporation's failure to crack down on defaulters and political pressure on the administration have magnified Ulhasnagar's problems,'' stated Nand Lal. He admitted that no IAS officer was willing to beappointed to a township where 90 per cent of constructions are said to be unauthorised. ``Even municipal commissioner A D Kale wants out and has applied for transfer,'' he informed,adding, ``Since we have nobody to replace him, he will have to continue.''

Ulhasnagar mayor Yashaswini Naik (Sena) seemed unfazed by the state government's action, and said, ``Only those who are in the wrong have reason to be afraid.''

BJP corporator Lal Punjabi (BJP) stated that the UD secretary was exceeding his brief. ``Nand Lal seems to have already made up his mind about dissolving the UMC,'' he said. But opposition leader Jyoti Kalani (UPP) welcomed the initiative, and called for ``an early dissolution of the municipal corporation to prevent conditions from deteriorating further.''