SRINAGAR While revised Master Plan of Srinagar-2035 has been notified, Amicus Curie advocate R A Jan on Friday submitted before the high court that the authorities can go ahead against constructions which have come up in violation of building permission laws.
Hearing a public Interest Litigation, a division bench of the high court was informed that SRO-160 has been issued and according to it, the Town Planning Organization Kashmir, on behalf of the Srinagar Development Authority, prepared the revised draft Master Plan of Srinagar-2035 for the local area of 766 Sq. Kilometers, which includes the extended areas as notified by the Government in terms section 10 (1) of Jammu and Kashmir Development Act, 1970.
Vide order No. 226-HUD of 2017 on 9 November 2017, the government constituted an Evaluation Committee for the scrutiny of suggestions and objections received from general public, stake holders and public representatives.
A Sub-Committee was framed by the Chairman of the Evaluation Committee on 6 December 2017 to examine the suggestions and objections for its further deliberation by the Evaluation Committee, the court was informed. The Sub-Committee after detailed exercise submitted its report to the Evaluation Committee on 28 August 2018
The Evaluation Committee, after scrutinizing the suggestions and objections received from general public and all stakeholders including report of Sub-Committee, furnished its recommendations for their incorporation in the final Master Plan of Srinagar-2035 on 22 October last year.
The Government, after examining the draft Master Plan of Srinagar and recommendations submitted by the Evaluation Committee, approved the draft Master Plan along with recommendations of the Committee with modifications vide State Administrative Council (SAC) Decision (No. : 40/5/2019) on 13-Febuary 2019.
The Government thereafter notified that Master Plan-2035 of Srinagar Metropolitan Region and it came into operation from the date of the issuance in March this year.
Senior advocate RA Jan, amicus curie, submitted that the authorities can go ahead now against illegal constructions which have come up in violation of building permission laws
The Public Interest Litigation filed by advocate Mujeeb Andrabi, seeking among other directions to clear Srinagar city of illegal constructions.
After high court directions calling for razing the illegal structures, the government passed a legislation, providing moratorium on sealing of illegal constructions till December 2015, and it was passed in both Houses of the legislature during NC-Congress government. Later PDP-BJP government also followed the suite.
The Government then constituted a high power committee of experts to go into the issue of illegal constructions and suggest remedial measures.
In the draft policy, the panel had reportedly recommended only those illegal constructions that have come up before March 5, 2014 will be considered for one time settlement by way of imposing hefty penalty while as no unauthorized construction having come up after March 5, 2014 will be regularized. In case of major violations having taken place before March 5, 2014, no leniency was proposed in the policy.
The exercise to formulate policy was started on the directions of the High Court, which had also issued directions for sealing of illegal/unauthorized constructions.
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