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Over 2,000 units violate Jammu Master
Plan
Many houses have been converted into commercial units at Gandhi Nagar. Tribune Photo: Anand Sharma
Srinagar Master Plan being violated with impunity
An overview of downtown Srinagar city from Hari Parbat. Photo: Yawar Kabli |
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On Gurpurb, Sikhs want settlement of migrants
Traffic chaos prevails on Jammu roads
Motorcycles illegally parked on a road in Jammu on Sunday. Tribune photo: Inderjeet Singh
Verify credentials of tenants or face legal action, residents
told
Panel to look into lack of heating systems in schools
Nine-day Jhiri fair begins
Hurriyat leader urged to revoke poll boycott call
NMC seeks 10% DA for employees
One killed, 5 hurt in road accidents
JKDF youth wing appoints block chiefs
Geelani detained, rally in north Kashmir deferred
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Over 2,000 units violate Jammu Master
Plan
Jammu, November 17 Sources said though violators had approached the High Court that had stayed orders against a few properties but close proximity of businessman with political parties had forced the civic body to go slow against violations going on in the city. As per the survey conducted within municipal limits, there are more than 2,000 residential buildings illegally converted into commercial units in violation of the Master Plan and Jammu and Kashmir Control of Building Operation Act, 1988. Gandhi Nagar, Trikuta Nagar, Old City and Shastri Nagar areas are on top of the list where more than 700 violations have been detected. Similar cases could be found in other colonies developed by the Jammu Development Authority (JDA). About three years ago, a major drive was started by the Municipal Corporation in the capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar against the illegal conversion of residential buildings into commercial units, but not much progress was made. However, Municipal Commissioner Kiran Wattal said there was no pressure on the civic body and several people had been booked for breaking the rules. “In the past one month, about 16 violations have been detected and action taken. The process takes time but we will take necessary steps”. As per the law for converting any category of land or building into commercial unit, a proper permission has to be taken from the competent authority as defined in the revenue laws, but in the city, most of the people are violating the rules. However, a senior municipal official said no major step could be initiated as political leaders were interfering in major decisions. “Despite notices issued by the government, most of the people who are illegally using their residential properties for commercial purpose have not closed down their operations and continue to defy the directions of the administration,” he said. Sources said an internal probe conducted by the corporation about a year ago had also revealed open violation of the building norms despite strict directions for not allowing conversion of residential premises into commercial one. |
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Srinagar Master Plan being violated with impunity
Srinagar, November 17 Taking a serious note of the brazen violations of the master plan, the High Court had recently directed the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) to seal the structures against which demolition orders have been issued. Besides, the court had also sought a report from the government on the policy decision with regard to over 3,000 violations of the Srinagar Master Plan over the years. However, the investigations reveal that many of these illegal structures, owned by the influential and powerful people, still remain intact. The list includes Chief Minister’s close aides and his relatives, besides leaders of the opposition PDP and former bureaucrats. The Srinagar Development Authority (SDA), in the past, had issued notices to these influential people for violating the guidelines, particularly along the Srinagar-Baramulla Bypass road, but to no avail. The SDA had accused them of violating the Srinagar Master Plan that prohibits construction of any commercial complex along the stretch of the road. The violators not only include private business houses, but it also features Indian Railways, Tourist Reception Centre and JK Police Public School. According to SDA records, Indian Railways’ Nowgam station, the newly-built tourist reception centre at Nowgam and Police Public School at Bemina, which is run by the J&K Police, have come up in violation of the master plan. The records also suggest that norms were flouted to establish Ansari Toyota, Shuhul Motors, KC Hyundai, Chevrolet Motors, Peaks Automobiles and Town Square. Ansari Toyota, a multi-storied car show room is owned by senior Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader and MLA Iftikhar Hussain Ansari, while the Shuhul Motors is owned by former National Conference corporator Bilal Ahmad Guroo. KC Hyundai is owned by Mohammad Aslam Khan, father-in-law of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s sister. Chevrolet Motors, on the other hand belongs to Ahsan Rather, son of a retired Development Commissioner. The owner of Peaks Automobile situated on Nowgam Bypass, Baldev Singh, had originally sought permission for construction of a farmhouse at the site. However, he converted it into a two-storey automobile showroom-cum-sales and service centre, in violation of the SDA norms. Town Square, owned by the wife of former Chief Secretary and MLC Sheikh Ghulam Rasool, runs without any designated parking space. As per the norms, it is mandatory for big shopping malls to have parking space. Violations Galore
High Court directions
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On Gurpurb, Sikhs want settlement of migrants
Jammu, November 17 The resolution was passed on the eve of Parkash Utsav of Sri Guru Nanak Devji. “Most of the Sikhs living in the state were uprooted from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). They migrated due to tribal invasion of 1947. Their status so far is not defined as to whether they are displaced families, refugees or migrants,” the DGPC resolution said. It further claimed that various representations were made to the higher authorities in this regard. The DGPC demanded establishment of Minority Commission as per precedence in other states besides installing of Baba Bandha Singh Bahadur’s statue at Kunjwani Chowk bye pass. They also sought permission from the state government to reconstruct the historic Gurdwara Sahib at Seer Manjla, Garhi (Ram Nagar) where first Guru of Sikhs stayed during his journey to the state. Earlier, a mammoth gathering of Sikh devotees thronged the Guudwara at Chand Nagar to celebrated 545th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Devji.
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Gaiety, fervour mark Gurpurb celebrations
Srinagar, November 17 The main religious function to commemorate Gurpurb was held at the Chattipadshahi gurdwara located at Rainawari area of the city. Manjeet Singh, a devotee, said the day was also celebrated with fervour and gaiety in other parts of the Valley, including Tral, Baramulla and Pulwama. “Langars (community kitchens) along with shabad kirtans were held at all the gurdwaras of the Valley,” he said. The All-Parties Sikh Co-ordination Committee (APSCC) chairman, Jagmohan Singh Raina, said Gurpurab was of immense religious significance to them as Kashmir held a special place for Guru Nanak. “Since he visited the Valley along with his companions, he left an indomitable impact on Kashmir. Guru Nanak Dev visited Kashmir in 1518 AD. He stayed at Bijbehara and Avantipur. He happened to meet Pandit Brahm Das who was highly impressed with the way of life and teachings of the Guru, which led him to embrace Sikhism. It also marked the beginning of the Sikhism in the Valley,” Raina said. He said Gurpurab was celebrated so that the devotees remembered and followed the teachings of Guru Nanak. “Ultimate peace can be achieved if people follow the path set out by Guru Nanak,” he added.
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Traffic chaos prevails on Jammu roads
Jammu, November 17 Though cranes hired by the traffic police lift wrongly parked vehicles, but it only leads to confusion as the vehicle owners for first few hours are unable to understand who lifted their vehicles. “My vehicle was lifted from the Residency Road area while I was inside a shop buying some cloths. When I did not get space for parking, I parked my vehicle on one side of the road. When I came out of the shop, I could not find my vehicle there,” said Rajinder Singh, a resident of Gangyal area of Jammu. “I came to know about my vehicle after a pedestrian told me that the traffic police might have taken it away,” Singh said, adding that when he got his vehicle back, the front bumper was damaged. The traffic department does not put any notice at the place from where they lift the vehicles and fine more than Rs 1,000 for every single offence of this nature. Out of this money, Rs 600 is given to the crane owner as these cranes are not owned by the traffic department. Long traffic jams could be seen during weekdays in most of the areas of the city and the situation becomes worsen during morning and evening
hours. SSP Manmohan Singh said there was a huge traffic pressure on the Jammu roads which further increased after the Durbar Move. “Despite that, we have put in place our mechanism which somehow has improved the situation. There are a few pressure areas like Rehari
Chowk, Canal road, Amphala Chowk and Janipur where pressure is more but still we divert traffic to other areas where we have scope,” Singh said.
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Verify credentials of tenants or face legal action, residents
told
Jammu, November 17 And those who contravene this process would be liable to face legal action in accordance with the provision of Section 188 of the
RPC. According to a circular issued by District Magistrate Ajit Kumar
Sahu, all tehsildars and police officers of the Jammu district have been directed to start the process of verification of the tenants living under their jurisdiction. The orders would remain in effect for two months. “Under Section 144,
CrPC, no landlord, owner, person of any house or property, which falls under the jurisdiction of Jammu district, would let, sublet or rent out any accommodation without informing in writing the SHO concerned under whose jurisdiction the premises fall about the particulars of the tenants,” the circular stated. The orders have into force with effect from November 11 and would remain in force for a period of 60 days unless withdrawn earlier. “Any person who contravenes this order shall be liable to be punished in accordance with the provision of the Section 188 of the
RPC. As the notice cannot be served individually on all concerned, the order is passed
ex-parte,” the circular said. Official sources, however, linked the issuance of the circular with the upcoming rally of BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi at MA Stadium on December 1. “The district administration doesn’t want to take any chance for Modi’s rally following the serial blasts in Patna that too minutes before his rally. There are reports that terrorists, in the guise of tenants, may seek hideouts and cause explosion as the venue of the rally, MA Stadium had witnessed such incidents in the past,” sources said.
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Panel to look into lack of heating systems in schools
Srinagar, November 17 A team of officials will be headed by the Assistant Commissioner, Nazool, which has been asked to look into the complaints and ensure that proper heating arrangements are provided to schoolchildren. The team has been constituted following complaints by several parents that majority of the privately-owned schools in Srinagar are not providing proper heating arrangements in the classrooms, despite charging hefty amounts as fee from the students. Apart from the private schools, the government-run schools have failed to provide heating arrangements to the students. “Though the government has constituted a team to look into the complaints, it should also ensure that minimum heating arrangements are provided to the government-run educational institutions,” said a city resident. In Srinagar city, the maximum temperature has remained steady at 16 degree Celsius for the past many days. However, the night temperature has fallen by two degrees below the freezing point. The effect is that residents in Srinagar and other areas in Kashmir have been experiencing chill in the morning and evenings.
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Nine-day Jhiri fair begins
Jammu, November 17 The fair is the manifestation of vibrant folklore in local Dogra history and followers of Baba from Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh gather to pay tribute to the legendary farmer Baba Jit Mal, popularly known as Baba Jitto. This year, more than 6 lakh people are expected to visit the fair for which entire administrative machinery has been pressed into service to streamline the event. Recently, the government had constituted a board to manage the fair properly and the management committee is chaired by the Deputy Commissioner, Jammu. Minister for Housing and Culture Raman Bhalla inaugurated the festival and said the government was making all out efforts to provide better facilities to the devotees at the Baba Jitto Devsathan.
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Hurriyat leader urged to revoke poll boycott call
Srinagar, November 17 Addressing a rally at Haran in Ganderbal district, Vakil said holding of elections in the state and resolving of the Kashmir issue were two separate issues. He said the poll boycott was directly affecting the prosperity of the masses. He said the Congress had always chosen the dialogue process to resolve the conflicts and it had also adopted the same approach in this state. Vakil stressed upon Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to concentrate on developmental issues rather on his “political concerns”. “This government has got mandate for development and prosperity but it seems the government is busy with politics rather than development works, which is moving at a snail’s pace,” he added.
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NMC seeks 10% DA for employees
Jammu, November 17 Addressing workers meeting, Shastri said employees and pensioners of the state government were waiting for the release of DA for the past more than four months. He demanded that the government should take early decision in this regard. Shastri also demanded for removal of all anomalies in the pay scale besides merging of 50 per cent DA in the pay scale/basic pension till the implementation of the 7th Pay Commission. Others who spoke on the occasion included Rajan Babu Khajuria, Sham Lal Sharma, Barkat Ram, Rakesh Padha, Anil Singh Salathia, Surinder Kumar, Sukhdev Singh, Subash Sharma, Ram Pal Sharma, Ram Lal Sharma and Geeta Devi.
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Alleged political pressure has stalled the efforts of the Jammu Municipal Corporation
to rein in illegal constructions and commercialisation of residential areas in Jammu city.
shopping malls, car plazas and other commercial establishments belonging to the big and mighty and built in violation of the provisions of the Srinagar Master Plan remain untouched.
The traffic system in the winter capital is in a shambles with the traffic police only focusing on revenue collection by issuing challans to the violators. No respect is being shown to the traffic rules with people using mobile phones while driving, not wearing seatbelts, motorcyclists riding without helmets and traffic policemen only focusing on revenue collection.
Hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani has again been placed under detention ahead of his scheduled rally at a volatile north Kashmir
town. Geelani was put under restrictions at his residence on the city outskirts yesterday, 18 days after he was released from a 236-day-long detention. The 84-year-old separatist leader was scheduled to address a rally today at
Palhalan, a volatile town in north Kashmir. Ayaz Akbar, a spokesman of the hardline faction, said the Palhalan rally had been deferred for now and if released, Geelani would address a rally in Banihal town on November 22.
— TNS
