M A I N   N E W S

No takers for Dawood’s properties

MUMBAI, Jan 11 (PTI) — The much-hyped auction of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim’s properties here worth Rs 5 crore turned out to be a damp squib today, with no bidder turning up at diplomat Hotel, the scheduled venue in South Mumbai.

“All properties are declared unsold and the tax recovery officer will have to reauction them within one year’s time”, Mr Sayed Mohamed Ashraf, Additional Income Tax Commissioner, told newspersons here after waiting for more than 30 minutes.

Till the next auction, the properties would vest with the IT Department and the respective tenants would not be evicted, he said.

The department turned down an NRI bidder as he could not deposit a refundable caution deposit of Rs 25,000 required for participating in the auction.

HP bans constructions in tourist towns
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Jan 11 — The Himachal Pradesh Cabinet today ordered a complete ban on constructions in certain areas of Manali, Dalhousie, McLeodganj and Dharamsala.

The Cabinet decided to discontinue the single-window system for approval of building plans in Manali, Dharamsala and Dalhousie and restored the powers to Deputy Commissioners. The decisions were taken at the Cabinet meeting which was presided over by Chief Minister, P.K. Dhumal.

Briefing mediapersons on the decisions, the Chief Secretary, Mr A.K. Goswami, said to regulate constructions in Manali and surrounding areas, the town had been divided into four zones — core, forest restricted and river front. No construction would be allowed in Manali town and towards the villages of Vishisht and old Manali. The ban would be applicable up to Nasogi on the right bank.

A total ban had been imposed on construction of hotels on the right bank of the Beas.

Mr Goswami said no other construction would be allowed in the forest area where only forestry-related schemes would be allowed. Twentyfive metres of land would be given to the Forest Department on both sides of the river front as per the orders of the High Court. Only sewerage projects and water supply schemes would be allowed in this belt.

He said the height of buildings in the restricted area of Manali would be allowed only up to three storeys. One of these would be reserved for car parking.

Mr Goswami said construction on the valley side had been banned in Dalhousie in Chamba district. In view of a large number of hotels in the town, no new hotels would be allowed where the width of the road was less than 5 metres. The hotels would have to provide the car parking facility for every two beds.

He said the Town and Country Planning Act had been extended to the entire Parwanoo-Shimla highway where five special area development agencies had been set up.

The Chief Secretary said a complete ban had been imposed on constructions in McLeodganj, Bhagsunag and areas above Jogibara Road in Dharamsala as these areas were sliding. Constructions would be regulated in Dharamsala where these were banned earlier. Only two storeys would be allowed in wards III and IV with one additional floor for car parking.

Hotels would be allowed on a minimum plot area of 1000 square metres with 45 per cent coverage. The remaining 55 per cent would be earmarked for parking and landscaping.

Mr Goswami said the Cabinet approved a scheme for developing car parking lots in the private sector in all towns of the state. These parking places would have a capacity for 100 to 200 vehicles each and government land would be auctioned to private parties for the purpose. Developers would have the liberty to fix the parking charges.

It had been decided to enforce the Town and Country Planning Act in the tribal town of Udaipur by creating a special area development authority and freezing the existing land use. This had been done to check haphazard constructions.

Mr Goswami said the Cabinet approved an amendment in the Town and Country Planning Act for registration of architects, planners, engineers and surveyors. Under the amended rules, degree-holder architects, planners and engineers, placed in the “A” category, would be permitted to make building plans within the Shimla Municipal Corporation. The “B” category diploma-holders would be allowed to make building plans in other towns, while the “C” category surveyors and draftsmen would be empowered to plan buildings in rural areas.

Mr Goswami said in a bid to prevent exploitation of farmers by middlemen, the Cabinet ordered a change in the policy of fixing private forest produce under which 17 species compulsorily went to the state Forest Corporation.

Under the new system, the Forest Corporation would shift to the royalty system under which it would take possession of standing trees and give 50 per cent royalty to farmers and the remaining 50 per cent after transportation.

He said the farmers would no more suffer because of fluctuation in the market and the role of middlemen would be reduced considerably.

The Cabinet decided to revive the Sawra forest range in the Jubbal area of Shimla district. It was decided to reward informers on tax evasion.