Fayaz Bukhari
Srinagar, July 31: The House Committee formed on illegal encroachments of wetlands in Srinagar, Baramulla and Bandipora districts in April this year today ordered sealing of Ansari TOYOTA showroom on Srinagar’s Parimpora bypass that belongs to opposition People’s Democratic Party MLA Iftikhar Hussain Ansari.
The House Committee comprising 9 members including its chairman MLA Mir Saifullah has observed that the showroom was constructed on agriculture land and ordered the Srinagar Municipal Corporation to seal the showroom as it lacked proper permission. The SMC has been ordered to report back to the Committee.
The Committee in its previous meeting had sought relevant records about the construction of Ansari TOYOTA and asked the concerned authorities to furnish the requisite information to the Assembly Secretariat for examination of the Committee.
The Ansari TOYOTA belonged to PDP MLA Moulana Iftikhar Hussain Ansari and the House Committee has three members – MLAs Syed Basharat Bukhari, Peer Mansoor Ahmad and Nizamudin Bhat – from opposition PDP. The other members are Nazir Gurezi, Kafillur Rehman, G A Mir, Abdul Majid Wani, and Ashok Kumar.
The Committee has also sought action against those officers who have given permission for the construction of the showroom, which has reportedly permission for workshop from the SMC.
The House Committee is looking into the filling of wetlands and changing of Agriculture land for construction purposes.
The Committee was formed after PDP MLA Moulana Iftikhar Hussain Ansari had raised question about filling of wetland in Singhpora area of Baramulla for construction purpose in Assembly early this year.
Irfan Ansari, Chief Executive Officer, of the company and son of MLA Ansari said that he has obtained NOC from Nazool, SDA, Highway Authorities, PDD and besides that permission for SMC for construction of the building.
The CEO said that he has got permission for workshop and office and the committee is raising the issue of sales now. He said that it is just a political gimmick to target his business because his father is an opposition MLA.
He said that he had applied for permission under Ribbon Development Act to construct the building 220 feet away from the centre of the road. But the SMC gave the permission to construct it 164 feet from centre of road. He said that the Government has modified Ribbon Development Act for allowing its favourites to construct showrooms on the highway 164 feet away from the centre of the road.
The CEO said that the Committee was supposed to look into the encroachments in the wetlands but they have not done anything regarding that but have targeted their company just for political reasons.
He also questioned the mandate of the Committee saying that it can’t take any action of its own. “It can report back to the Assembly and it is the House that has the power to take any action”, he added.
An official spokesman said here this evening that a meeting of the House Committee of Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly “to ascertain the factual position regarding the illegal encroachment of wet land in Srinagar, Baramulla and Bandipore districts and conversion of Agricultural and Kahcharai land for residential purposes with particular reference to Shalteng and its adjoining areas within 10 kilometers radius, whether falling within the administrative jurisdiction of Srinagar Baramulla or Bandipora districts” was held here today under the chairmanship of MLA Mir Saifullah.
It said that the meeting was attended by Nazir Ahmad Gurezi, Syed Basharat Ahmad Bukhari, Nizam- ud-Din Bhat, Peerzada Mansoor Hussain and Abdul Majeed Wani.
The Divisional Comm-issioner, Kashmir, Comm-issioner Srinagar Municipal Corporation, District Development Commi-ssioner, Baramulla, Director Land Records, Kashmir, Settlement Officer, Kashmir, Assistant Commissioner with the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Wild Life Warden, DIG Baramulla and the BOCA Members also attended the meeting, the spokesman said.
The meeting observed that on the basis of the report submitted by the Commissioner, SMC, that BOCA had granted permission for the establishment of Automobile workshop in favour of son of Molvi Iftikar Hussain Ansari, has been turned into a sale and purchase centre of TOYOTA Automobiles in gross violation of the permission so granted.
The Committee, while taking a serious note of this kind of violation, directed the Commissioner, SMC to lock the said sale centre immediately besides taking stern action against the officers responsible for encouraging such un-lawful deals and to furnish the compliance report to the Committee within a period of two days positively for deciding further course of action in this behalf.
The Committee also directed the Divisional Commissioner Kashmir that since the Brari Nambal stands notified by the Government as wet land and change of land use in the area is not permissible under law and as such he should get published the said Notification in the print Media for information of the general public so that they would desist from purchasing any land there for residential or commercial purposes.
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