Procedure simplified in view of immense difficulties
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, July 17: In order to facilitate the armed forces in time-bound development of infrastructure of strategic importance, the Administrative Council headed by Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu today accorded sanction to the proposal of amending the Control of Building Operations Act, 1988 and the Jammu and Kashmir Development Act, 1970.
In the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, all the developmental activities are governed by the Control of Building Operations Act, 1988 and the Jammu and Kashmir Development Act, 1970.
The Section 4 of the Control of Building Operations Act states that no person shall undertake or carry out the development of any site in any Municipal Area, Local Area, Town Area, Notified Area or Area Notified under the Jammu and Kashmir State Town Planning Act, 1963, or erect or re-erect any building or make or extend any excavation or lay out any means of access to a road in such area except with the previous permission of the Authority concerned in writing.
Similarly, Section 5 of the Act reads: “Every person desiring to obtain the permission, referred to in Section 4 shall make an application in writing to the Authority or through any agency authorised, in such form and containing such information as may be prescribed by regulations made under this Act”.
Likewise, Section 13 of the Jammu and Kashmir Development Act, 1970 states that no person including the department of Government shall undertake or carry out development of any land or building unless permission for such development has been obtained in writing from the Authority constituted under the Act after fulfilling all the formalities.
Because of these and other provisions of Control of Building Operations Act and the Jammu and Kashmir Development Act, the armed forces have been facing immense difficulties in time-bound development of infrastructure of strategic importance.
“This is mainly because the authorities empowered under these two laws are either taking undue long time in granting building permissions or denying the same at all on various grounds thereby leading to inordinate delay in raising of much-needed infrastructure by the armed forces”, sources said while disclosing that in various strategic areas of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir the infrastructure projects of armed forces are held up for want of timely approval by the concerned authorities of the civil administration.
Recently, top brass of the armed forces took up this issue with the Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu and Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam and after series of discussions the administration made up its mind to carry out certain amendments in these two laws so as to facilitate the armed forces in creation of infrastructure of strategic importance in a time bound manner.
Accordingly, the Housing and Urban Development Department was asked to analyze the requirement of the armed forces and come up with the proposal for necessary amendments in these two Acts.
The proposal was finally placed before the Administrative Council headed by Lieutenant Governor and after detailed deliberations approval was given for carrying out amendments in the Control of Building Operations Act, 1988 and the J&K Development Act, 1970 to provide for special dispensation for carrying out construction activities in strategic areas.
“The amendments approved the Administrative Council will pave the way for notifying certain areas as strategic areas in terms of the requirement of armed forces and in such areas the regulation of construction activity shall be through a special dispensation”, the Government said in a handout, adding “the move is aimed at simplifying the procedure and shall facilitate time bound development of infrastructure of strategic importance”.
The Government further said, “the approval has been granted keeping in view the strategic importance of certain locations and reconciling their security needs with developmental aspirations”.
About the procedure to be adopted under the special dispensation, sources said, “the armed forces will place formal proposal before the Administrative Secretary of the Housing and Urban Development Department with the mention of area being considered as strategic one and the infrastructure required to be created there”.
“The Administrative Secretary after thorough examination of the same from all the aspects will place the same before the competent authority for approval”, sources further said while disclosing that under the present mechanism of governance Lieutenant Governor will be the competent authority for accord of final approval.
A formal notification regarding amendments in these two laws will be issued by the Housing and Urban Development Department within next few days.
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