Dr. Ravia Gupta
Growth of any city depends on its effective enforcement.Rampant violations reflect poorly on the policies and the master plan of the city. It is reported that over 60,000 acres of encroached land had been retrieved in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir and creation of panel to monitor encroachments has been ordered. What is most needed is also an understanding of the reasons behind such violations that have become a norm from some time now.
There are many factors responsible for violations of building bye-laws and encroachments that can be broadly categorized into four. First is the lack of commercial space provided by the Government to operate businesses especially considering the growing pace of urbanization. The last commercial space the city received was almost 30 years ago around 90s was the establishment of Bahu Plaza in the Rail Head Complex near Trikuta Nagar. There are several corporate organizations and mobile phone companies that are operating from Bahu Plaza which is divided into North and South Block. Other private commercial spaces in the form of garadges, carwash etc are being setup in a haphazard manner. So far, there seems to be no plan for providing any commercial space by the Government either in Jammu North or in Jammu South.
Second reason is lack of clarity by the Revenue Department in terms of construction codes and rules. There have been announcements in the past regarding the new building bye-laws and change in the construction rules in the UT of J&K and that there would be no construction near rivers, other watrebodies or khuds, but the reality looks otherwise. Third factor is other types of encroachment by small vendors, hawkers, shopkeepers etc.The blame is often put either on the corrupt practices or government employees at lower ranks.They are pulled up to maintain an order in this never-ending chaos which leads no where.The last and most important effect of this claustrophobic system then leads to family disputes. For instance, in the 80s in a family if the division was to take place among three sons it would be less chaotic and now due to scarcity of space and lack of government residential colonies that are preferred over the private colonies by people, the only option left with people then is to go for vertical growth which leads to violation of building bye-laws.
As per census 2011 Jammu District population was 1,529,958 (15.29 Lakhs) and its estimated population is 1,829, 830 (18.29 Lakhs) in 2022. Surprisingly, no one seems to be paying attention to the basic requirement of growing population which is the setting up of planned residential colonies.
During the Real Estate Summit-2022, decisions were taken to develop housing stocks in both the capital cities of Srinagar and Jammu. Out of which, Administrative Council (AC) has approved the transfer of land measuring 2318 Kanal 08 Marla in 07 villages at 17 locations in Srinagar and Budgam districts to the Housing and Urban Development Department for construction of residential colonies. The decision to transfer the land to solve the problem of encroachment and also meet the increasing demand for housing in Jammu is yet to see the day light.
J&K Housing Board was established in March, 1976 under the Jammu & Kashmir Housing Board Act, 1976 aimed to provide not just ‘affordable shelter for all’ but also come up with schemes that satisfy the housing needs including the residential needs of the people of Jammu city. Rising encroachments in the UT of J&K that are being reported quite often by the media reflect on the fact that these basic needs are not being addressed properly over the years.
J&K Municipal Act came into being in 1941 and then for the purpose of urban development, Government residential colonies were set up. As far as development in Jammu South is concerned, the first residential colony – Gandhi Nagar was set up in 1960, Trikutanagr in 1980 and Channi in 1990 and then Roop Nagar and Raj Nagar in 1995 were developed by the Jammu Development Authority. Besides, the city also witnessed some patches of private colonies including Sainik Colony and other nearby colonies to make Jammu livable. The Government has failed to underline cause of violations of urban local laws. It is submitted that the basic principle which is required to be understood first is that, whether the “supply is sufficient to meet the demand”.In Jammu municipal area, the supply is negligible and demand is very high. The Government has a fundamental duty to provide the basic amenities like housing plots, commercial spaces, industrial spaces, etc. As noted earlier, no residential colony was developed by the government after 1990. Let us now understand this by an example, a nuclear family comprising of husband wife and two sons, who purchased and constructed a house in Trikuta Nagar, over a plot of seven marlas, were happily living there till the marriage of their son and by year 2015-2016 both the sons get married, after marriage both the sons need a separate accommodation for their extended families.In today’s scenario there is no housing colony in Jammu where one can construct a house. So, they will definitely raise additional floors over the existing plot and once the construction is raised that will be called a violation.InJammu every household is facing the same problem.
The other reasons which is also a great contributory factor to the violations is the master plan. The master plan provides such strict parameters that cannot be complied in today’s world. In seven marlas of a plot, the ground coverage is 70 percent , in 12 marlas ground coverage is 60 percent and in 1 Kannal ground coverage is 50 percent. It is seen that today the price of land is sky-rocketing and the government expects half of the plot shall remain vacant. Further,it is also seen that there is no concept of builder floor yet introduced.
There is not doubt that efforts are being made recently to make the city of temples also look beautiful too especially with the presence of having vertical gardens, LED street lights, traditional wall paintings, painted roads, huge multi-level parking and of course preserving our heritage sites by organizing some events and campaigns. Construction of flyovers can act as a balm to some extent and bring a bit of respite to channelize our vehicular traffic but it is not a permanent solution to the grave problem that people of Jammu are facing.
Setting up of planned colonies with smart water treatment plant and proper waste management system is what the city needs the most towards sustainable living that goes beyond face-lifting, road widening or haphazard construction.
Out of the three bare basic requirements of roti, kapda aur makaan, it’s time we demand for the third and not just for a select few but keeping in view the growing population of the city we need a minimum of let’s say around 10,000 plots within the boundaries and reach of people of Jammu. It’s time we demand for something more meaningful and sustainable which is beyond the shabby outlook, regulation of traffic, etc. It’s also time those in authority look into the grey areas and act in a manner so that cleanliness does not just remain a desirable behaviour but also a living reality by way of setting up residential colonies for future generations. Perhaps, this could be a better way to deal with encroachments.With the coming of residential colonies skilled/unskilled labor will also get direct employment opportunities. It will also provide employment to local vendors and of course there will be better development of local areas.
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