Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Apr 25: Taking strong exception to the approach of Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) with regard to construction of shopping complex in total violation of building permission on the outskirts of Srinagar, the High Court has directed the Corporation to stop such construction till the matter is decided by the Special Tribunal.
It has been brought to the notice of the court that the violators have approached the authorities of Corporation for permission for raising construction of single storeyed joinery workshop in Parimpora area of Srinagar with erection of compound walling on the land with total plinth area of 1155 sft. The Corporation accorded sanction for raising the structure and compound walling in their favour.
However, they started construction on the spot, which was in total violation of the building permission because a plinth area of more than 2300 sft instead of 1155 sft was raised. The construction on site is a shopping complex with nine shops, instead of a joinery workshop. The said violation was brought to the notice of the SMC authorities by the aggrieved person but no action has been taken by the SMC.
“The construction is totally in violation of the permission accorded and is patently a major violation as also in violation of rights of petitioner as well as the SMC authorities are apparently in league with violators and have been sitting over the said major illegal construction and shielding the same”, court has been informed.
After these facts and circumstance, Justice V C Koul directed the SMC to ensure that there shall not be any kind of construction going on or permitted to be raised by private respondents on the spot till outcome of the proceedings, if any, pending or initiated by aggrieved-petitioner before the Tribunal.
Justice Koul has also made clear that in the event a revision or any other motion is preferred by the petitioner, the Tribunal shall take note of all that has been observed by the High Court. Court on perusal of the permission as granted by the SMC recorded that the permittee shall commence the proposed construction only in presence of concerned Ward Officer or Building Inspector or the concerned Enforcement Officer in accordance with the sanctioned plan whereas in the present case the construction in question has been raised in absence of functionaries of respondent-SMC.
The building permission, court added, further envisaged that the Ward Officer or Building Inspector shall monitor the construction strictly as per approved plan and shall forward status report to competent authority and officer authorised on this behalf. “However, in the case in hand, construction in question has never been monitored by functionaries of respondent-SMC as is evident from the record”, Court said.
Not only this, the building permission also stipulates that the Structural Engineer and Architect Construction Engineer shall be responsible for strict adherence of the provision of the Building Byelaws and permittee shall be bound to adhere to their instructions in accordance with the prescribed Byelaws. It is also provided that the committee shall in no case change the use of the building permitted for.
Court has reprimanded the SMC for having such a lackadaisical approach in performing its duties recorded that all these conditions have been violated with impunity by permittees (violators) SMC functionaries remained mute spectators.
“By that respondent-SMC functionaries were permitted to raise construction in question in derogation and violation of building permission. Dereliction of duties on the part of functionaries of respondent-SMC is abundant from the record”, Court said
Court on perusal of the record said the non-compliance of the directions of the court and deliberate dereliction in discharging the statutory duties and obligations makes it evident from the impugned order, illegal structure has been allowed to be raised on spot in connivance with the official respondents and that the official respondents did not enforce the provisions of law and their authority against the impugned construction and the allottees deliberately and intentionally failed to discharge their statutory duty.
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