The ragpickers, who were all praise for the commissioner's kind gesture, received a rude jolt when the standing committee passed a resolution directing the civic chief to pull down the ``illegal structure''. When Jagadeesan was called by the standing committee he is said to have admitted that he had permitted the ragpickers to set up a scrap shop in Rasulabad.

He, however, chose to ignore the ``directive'' so far. The committee, according to a councillor, asked Jagadeesan to demolish the structure for two apparent reasons. It is only the standing committee which can lease land, and not the municipal commissioner who has violated the BPMC Act. Secondly, the ragpickers association is affiliated to the Navsarjan Trust which is run by missionaries.

When contacted, a senior civic official said `the structure is illegal. Its an encroachment. But the BJP wants to demolish the structure because it belongs to the Christians''.