Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, May 29: Corporators of Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) today passed a resolution seeking removal of the Corporation’s Joint Commissioner Planning (JCP) for alleged ‘misbehaviour’ with the general public as well as the elected Corporators.
The resolution was brought in under Section 46, Sub-Section 2 of the Municipal Corporation Act which states that the Joint Commissioner’s appointment and delegation of power should be approved by the elected Corporation.
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Giving details about the resolution after the special session of the Council was over, Srinagar Mayor Junaid Azim Mattu told reporters here that the Joint Commissioner Planning, Srinagar has been repeatedly “misbehaving with people, Corporators and was being selective while discharging his duties.”
“100 per cent votes were recorded in favour of the resolution, 55 out of 73 Corporators passed the resolution and it will be now sent legally to the Administrative Department asking them to send the Joint Commissioner Planning, SMC back and appoint the officer of their choice as new JCP at the SMC,” the Mayor said.
He said that the resolution passed has got nothing to do with the illegal constructions as the Corporators want the building permit applications to be disposed of without any delay.
“The issue has not crept in all of a sudden as one year ago the Corporation had asked the administration that the current JCP should be removed from the SMC,” he said.
The Mayor said that the resolution has got nothing to do with the illegal constructions. “We just do not want the building permissions to remain pending for months. We want permissions either to be rejected or approved with supported facts,” he said.
Notably, the special session of the SMC’s General Council session-which was held to pass the resolution seeking removal of Ghulam Hassan Mir from the post of Joint Commissioner Planning-was presided over by Mayor SMC who was accompanied by Deputy Mayor Pervaiz Qadri.
All 55 Corporators who were present on the occasion passed the resolution against Joint Commissioner Planning and sought his immediate removal.
A Corporator from Lal Bazaar had moved the resolution for its discussion and decision of the General Council on facts.
“…that the present Joint Commissioner (Planning) posted in SMC is not worthwhile to hold such an important post, being quite irresponsible for his duties assigned to him as JCP,” the notice given earlier to the Corporators read.
Another point mentioned in the resolution was that there have been complaints from the general public especially the person who intend to construct their residential houses and that the behaviour and working of the present JCP, SMC is against the prescribed norms
Also, the resolution stated that such unsatisfactory performance of the present Joint Commissioner (Planning), SMC “is paving ways for using other illegal ways and means by the general public with the result figures are being raised on the whole working system of SMC and also on the officers who are at the helm of affairs in the SMC.”
Earlier, in a letter to the Commissioner, Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC), Mayor along with other Corporators had sought removal of the Joint Commissioner (Planning) and his repatriation to the Housing and Urban Development Department (HUDD), following which they started a strike within the SMC premises.
Tension started in the SMC after Commissioner Athar Amin Khan, last week formed a Task Force of seven officials of the SMC headed by the JCP Mir to look into illegal constructions, deviations and conversion of residential buildings into commercial in Srinagar city. He has also ordered their demolition and recovery of the money lost by such constructions from delinquent SMC officials.
The Task Force demolished several illegal structures that were coming up during lockdown allegedly with the active connivance of some Municipal officials and Corporators. Mir also cancelled several building permissions which were illegally issued.
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