Govt forms committee on HC order for land to school for sightless girls

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 5: For the implementation of High Court order, issued in the writ petition for allotment of extra piece of land to Louis Braille Memorial School for the Sightless Girls, Roop Nagar Jammu, Government today constituted a committee, headed by Chief Secretary as the Chairman.
Financial Commissioner (Additional Chief Secretary, Finance Department, Principal Secretary, School Education Department, Secretary Social Welfare Department and Vice-Chairman, Jammu Development Authority are members of the committee.
The petition has been filed by the National Federation of the Blind, which runs a school for visually impaired girls in the Roop Nagar Colony in Jammu. The said school has been constructed over a plot of land measuring approximately 02 kanals. These students are housed in a two storied building, which consists of residential quarters/hostel as also the class rooms.
The petitioners have been making efforts for obtaining an extra piece of land from the Jammu Development Authority in addition to two kanals, which have already been allotted to the institution. However, instead of acceding to the request of the petitioners for allotment of additional piece of land, the JDA has now allotted approximately 05 kanals of land to the Jammu Municipal Corporation for running an Animal Treatment Centre.
In its direction, dated September 8, 2021, the High Court had observed that the official respondents need to re-consider their decision with regard to the plot in question, which has been allotted in favour of the Jammu Municipal Corporation.
“In this regard it is deemed appropriate to constitute a Committee headed by the Chief Secretary, UT of J&K, Commissioner/Secretary to Government, Social Welfare Department, UT of J&K as also the Vice- Chairman, Jammu Development Authority, who will go into the question and take a sympathetic view. The Committee can even consider allotment of any other plot of land, if the same is available and vacant in favour of the Jammu Municipality, while considering the case of the petitioners in regard to the plot in question,” ruled the court and ordered that the needful be done preferably within a period of six weeks.
The case was listed on October 25, 2021 with further direction that no construction activity would be permitted on the plot in question, till further orders from the High Court.