PIL highlighting allotment scam of municipal shops, flats
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 17: In the much publicised PIL highlighting illegal allotment of shops, flats, garages and other municipal assets by Jammu Municipal Corporation, a Division Bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Vinod Chatterji Koul today expressed anguish over the dilatory tactics adopted by Principal Secretary Housing and Urban Development Department in finalizing the Draft Policy.
Moreover, the DB passed strictures against the Housing and Urban Development Department and remarked, “this is a serious matter and brooks no delay as transfer of valuable public property is involved in this case”.
After hearing Advocate Sheikh Shakeel Ahmed with Advocates Supriya Chouhan and Mohammad Zulkarnain Chowdhary for the petitioner Irtiza Mushtaq, a practising lawyer, whereas Senior AAG S S Nanda for H&UDD, Advocate Sachin Gupta for JMC, Senior Advocate R K Gupta with Advocate Udhay Bhaskar for R S Jamwal, former Joint Commissioner (Admn) and Madan Mohan Khajuria, former PA to Commissioner JMC, the Division Bench directed, “let a copy of this order be made available to the Chief Secretary, Union Territory of J&K, Avny Lavasa, Commissioner JMC to intervene in the matter and ensure that the needful is done at an earliest”.
The Division Bench further directed that a status report in this regard be filed by the Commissioner / Secretary H&UDD before the next date of hearing.
Advocate S S Ahmed invited the attention of the Division Bench towards order dated March 10, 2020 wherein Commissioner / Secretary H&UDD was directed to furnish list of all its properties in J&K and the details of the persons in possession and also under what Rules and Regulations those properties were allotted to them and the payment of charges for use and occupation and the arrears as on date. “Despite passage of 5 months, the needful has not been done by the Commissioner / Secretary H&UDD”, he added.
Upon this, the Division Bench headed by Chief Justice expressed displeasure and said, “we give one last opportunity of two weeks to the respondent to furnish the details in terms of our order dated 10th March, 2020 subject to payment of cost of Rs 5000 by respondent”.
“The cost shall be deposited with the J&K State Legal Services Authority within one week from today and proof of deposit shall accompany the details”, the DB directed.
Looking into the importance of the matter, the DB directed the Registry to re-notify the instant PIL on August 27.
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