.................................Features in detail

"Fake" housing societies
make mockery of law

By S. P. Sharma

D espite having been declared illegal by the Town and Department (TCP) and as a "fake" cooperative housing society by the Justice Roop Singh Thakur Commission, the Himachal Pradesh Government has failed to take any action in connection with the construction of a multi- storey concrete structure which has become an eyesore in the green hills of Kasauli. Work on the structure is still on although TCP officials claim that the status of the building continues to be illegal. Any delay on the part of the administration is bound to convert the picturesque cantonment into another Dalhousie or Shimla where concrete structures outnumber green trees now.

The constructions at Kasauli and other parts of the state are going on unabated because there is absolutely no coordination between various government agencies.The right hand does not know what the left hand is doing. A high- level committee of the government had vainly underscored the need for a close coordination between the departments, particularly the Revenue,Town and Country Planning, Cooperative and Forests, to safeguard the interests of the agriculturists.

The controversial structure at Kasauli, called "Hill Crest Homes", is under a cooperative housing society whose bona fides have been questioned. Even after having been declared illegal,the promoter of the society, throwing all rules to the winds, has constructed one residential floor in the building as is evident in the picture.The authorities also turned a blind eye towards all this and allowed the construction to go on.

Many other clusters which have mushroomed around Kasauli do not conform to the architectural ethos of the hills. The reports of the Commission on Environment Protection and Illegal Land Deals headed by Justice Roop Singh Thakur and the then Deputy Commissioner, Solan,against these constructions,particularly the "Hill Crest Homes", appear to have been put in the cold storage by the authorities.

The commission was set up by the state government on the orders of the High Court with regard to the writ petition filed by the Society for Preservation of Kasauli and its Environs (SPOKE). Successive governments in the state, which have been talking of making Himachal another Switzerland, have been indifferent to haphazard and unauthorised constructions which have defaced the very face of tourist destinations.Nothing has so far been done in the matter of 24 public interest litigations regarding unauthorised constructions and pollution which were dismissed by the court and referred to the state government.

Thus,the construction of a massive structure for making 45 independent flats at Kasauli has been done in violation of all laws. Interestingly, the authorities also did not take any notice of the protests by the defence and Air Force authorities who pointed out that such constructions were a threat to their sophisticated installations in the area.

The commission has pointed out that the structure was at a distance of 150 metres from the sensitive installations of the Air Force although rules provide that no such building can come up within a distance of 900 metres from them.

The commission has also said that at least 60 to 70 green trees have been cut to make place for the structure, which was highly objectionable and destructive of ecology and environment in the area. The Deputy Commissioner, Solan, observed that the as per the report of the Deputy Registrar of Cooperative societies and the enquiry conducted by the Tehsildar, Kasauli, most of the members of the housing society were non-residents and non-agriculturists of Himachal Pradesh and the society was a "fake and a fraud" established by a few persons to serve their vested interests.

The DC, Solan,also sent a report to the state government on October 27,1992, wherein it was observed that as per scrutiny and observations,the society was a fake one manipulated by its president,A.P.S.Dhindsa,and Balraj Singh, both residents of Chandigarh. The commission has also observed that membership of the society appeared to be "bogus" as atleast three- fourth of them have never been ordinary residents of Himachal Pradesh even for a period of six months, which is the minimum requirement for such membership and their declarations in this behalf appear to be a subterfuge. In fact, the main pillars of the society, Dhindsa and Balraj Singh, themselves do not fulfil the requirement of six months ordinary residence in the legal sense. Referring to the audit report of the deputy registrar of cooperatives, Solan,the Commission has pointed out that it has been observed that the society appears to be of doubtful character with an ulterior motive.

The commission has also pointed out that during the President’s Rule in 1993,the then Governor visited Kasauli to personally take stock of the construction and described it as a "monstrous"structure. He had desired that this society should not be permitted to go for further construction till it submitted its plan for regularisation. The Solan district, particularly areas around Kasauli and Barog, have become the main targets of builders, many of whom have acquired land by floating "fake" cooperative societies to evade action under section 118 of H.P.Tenancy and Land Reforms Act.

Another high- powered committee headed by the then Financial Commissioner (Revenue),. S.S.Sidhu, detected 217 benami land transactions in the state. As many as 67 were in Solan district alone. The committee, which enquired into benami land transactions in the state from January, 1990 to December, 1992,pointed out that all these transactions were either outright benami,or were in contravention of the provisions of section 118 of the H.P. Tenancy and Land Reforms Act. A large number of cases of land transfers were through the formation of housing cooperatives, partnerships or private limited companies.

The committee reported that in some cases, devices of wills against stranger non-agriculturists and collusive decrees of civil courts were also found to have been used.In all such cases the committee found that the possession of land stood transferred in favour of non-agriculturists who were the actual beneficiaries.

The committee is learnt to have pointed out that the haphazard growth of hotels and tourist complexes on the Barog hillock could have been avoided had the officials been alert. Quoting a report of the DC, Solan,the committee pointed out that atleast 92 persons had purchased land in Barog, Khali and Daghota. Of these, only nine persons had obtained prior permission of the government to purchase the land in relaxation of section 118. In Barog alone, 67 persons purchased land, but only seven obtained the sanction of the state government. Another useful recommendation of the committee to include the land upto 100 metres on both sides of the national and state highways in the planning area has gone down the drain.

The committee strongly recommended that no construction should be allowed in the acquired width and action under the Roadside Land Control Act should be taken against the defaulters. However,what is happening on the strategic Kalka—Shimla highway is that haphazard constructions are taking place. The TCP passes on the buck to the PWD, whose engineers have the powers of the collector to immediately demolish unauthorised constructions on the roadside. The 85- km long highway between Shimla and Parwanoo is getting narrower with hotels and other buildings coming up on the roadside in utter violation of rules.

Besides, many hotels and resorts have come up right on the roadside without leaving any space for parking of vehicles.The highway is being utilised as a parking place. At least five hotels have come up on a short stretch between Parwanoo and Jabli sans parking place.This is bound to cause traffic jams particularly during weekends. About 93 cases of unauthorised constructions on both sides of the highway have been detected. A 2500-metre ropeway between Kasauli and Jabli on the highway is also coming up.It has a capacity to carry 2000 persons per day. Besides, a 50- room hotel is also proposed at the starting point in Jabli.

All this will generate a considerable quantum of vehicular traffic on the highway. A cluster of hotels has already come up near Jabli. The TCP authorities say that the Town and Country Planning Act is not applicable between Shogi, on the outskirts of Shimla, and Timber Trail in Parwanoo, and as such they are unable to check the haphazard constructions on the highway.The district authorities of Solan and the PWD are also not taking any action in the matter.

The executive engineers of the PWD are empowered to take action against violations under the Roadside Land Control Act which provides that any construction should be five metres away from the highway.

The district authorities can also take action under the section 163 for constructions within the acquired width of the road.

Tragically, nothing is being done to enforce the law. Experts now opine that the chaos will continue until a unified command for regulated development is created. The multi-department approach has failed miserably.