Utter violation of Srinagar Master Plan, court rulings
Irfan Tramboo
Srinagar, June 16: Even as the conversion of residential premises into commercial ones is prohibited in Srinagar city, the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) is overlooking such violations and is also failing in taking due action against the violators in certain cases.
A case in point being residential establishments converted into commercial ones at Suthra Shahi, Karan Nagar in Srinagar city where the locals brought the issue to the notice of the concerned authorities which then directed the SMC to do the needful in this regard.
It is to be noted here that as per the Senior Town Planner at Srinagar Development Authority, the area is earmarked for residential use and falls in MHDR Zone-VII as per Master Plan-2035 of Srinagar Metropolitan Region. The same has been conveyed by the Chief Town Planner, Kashmir as well.
In a letter issued from the office of the Advisor to the Lieutenant Governor, Baseer Ahmad Khan in May last year, Commissioner SMC was directed to act against the illegal commercial activities in Government Residential Housing Colony, Suthrashahi Srinagar.
“The said committee [complainants] has again represented with the plea that no action has been taken so far; I am accordingly directed to forward the said representation again to immediate necessary action with the requests to revert with a report to this office immediately,” reads the letter sent by the Advisor’s OSD.
In November last year, the SMC then issued the sealing orders and stated that it is acting based on the complaints received from the locals.
“It has been complained… that two-storied building with attic has been constructed and converted for commercial purpose in violation of land use of the area and Master Plan in vogue thereof,” reads the sealing order.
It also said that the concerned ward officer has reported that the person has been time and again advised to shift the said business unit to some other alternative place to avoid inconvenience and nuisance faced by the locals.
The sealing order also refers to a High Court judgement in the case of Mujeeb Andrabi V/S State and others under which the SMC was directed to ensure that no residential property in the summer capital Srinagar is converted for commercial purpose.
As per the SMC, the concerned person was also given a notice in October the same year, however, there was no reply from the party in question, thus compelling the SMC to go for sealing of the premises for 45 days.
At the time of sealing the structure, the opinion of the Law Officer of the SMC was also taken who stated that it was a pure case of violation under the Master Plan and gave a green signal to the enforcement department of the SMC for the sealing.
During that, the concerned party approached the High Court stating that they have replied in time and the same has not been entertained by the sealing authority. They also argued that their premise does not fall under the master plan and has been raised during the currency of Master Plan 2000-2021.
Finally, the court on 18 December 2021 directed for the de-sealing of the premises while asking the concerned authority to pass fresh orders after giving a personal hearing to the petitioner. However, to date, nothing has been done, neither the response has been filed by the SMC in the court while the premise continues to remain functional.
“Accordingly, while directing the de-sealing of the premises in question it is further directed that the petitioners while carrying on business shall not allow the use of heavy vehicles in front of their building or the society or park the vehicles in such a way as to obstruct the free flow of the traffic in the area,” the court directed.
It also said that the respondents shall “consider the response to the show-cause notice and give personal hearing to the petitioners and thereafter pass fresh order as deem fit by the respondents. The order passed by the competent authority shall be subject to the further orders of the court…”
Commissioner SMC Athar Amir told Excelsior that in this case, in an interim order the court had directed to give personal hearing to the violators (applicants in High Court) and consider their reply.
“In this regard, we had called both the sides for personal hearing last Saturday. The parties in whose premises commercial activity was being done came for the hearing with documents and their side of proof. However, the complainants did not come,” he said.
He said that the SMC has also made a team to monitor the existing situation. “A new order is being issued. But that order will again be subject to further orders of the High Court. The matter is subjudice there,” he said.
However, the complainants said that it is they who are pursuing the case and there is no question of not attending the meeting as sought by the Commissioner. “We have met Commissioner dozens of times so far but nothing was done”, they said.
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