Illegal constructions rampant in Dharamsala

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, May 11

The killing of a woman officer in Kasauli has once again brought the fore the issue of illegal constructions in the state. Dharamsala region has become most notorious in terms of illegal constructions and violation of building bylaws.

Already on the orders of the Himachal High Court power and water connections of 128 illegal buildings have been disconnected. When the power department officials went in Bhagsu area of Dharamsala recently to disconnect power in illegal building on the high court orders there was resistance from residents and they resorted to traffic blockade.

The electricity board officials, who were implementing the high court orders, had to cut a sorry figure as nobody even the police could support them in front of the agitating Bhagsu residents.

The 140 hotels against which the action has been taken are those in which the completion certificate have not been issued, illegal hotels with no maps approved and those located in core area where the maps for residential houses are approved but now seven-storey buildings have come up there.

Sources here said that besides these, there was another category of violators. This category of violators includes those hoteliers or commercial building owners who got their completion certificates from the municipal council and later carried out illegal constructions.

Interestingly, no hotel building is passed by the Town and Country Planning Department or Municipal Corporation without leaving a floor for parking. In approved maps almost all the hotels have kept their ground floors as parking areas. Now modified, the parking areas are being used for commercial purpose. Not even 10 per cent hotels in Dharamsala region have their own parking lots. The result is traffic jams in peak tourist seasons as the tourists have to park their vehicles on the roadsides.

Besides, since Dharamsala is a quake prone area maximum of four storey buildings and a basement was allowed as per construction norms. However, ironically, several seven-storey hotels have come up in Upper Dharamsala areas like McLeodganj, Bhagsunag and Dharamkot.

The authorities limited themselves to just giving notices to influential owners of these high-rise buildings and not taking action on ground to stop illegal constructions.

The worst casualty in McLeodganj has been the heritage zone that is famous as abode the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile. Sources here said that the old heritage zone of McLeodganj included the area extending from main crossing of McLeodganj to Dalai Lama temple road. The area was kept under heritage zone so as to protect old buildings intact in the world famous hill station.

However, when the previous Congress government announced its regularization policy almost all the old buildings were demolished and multi-storey buildings constructed in their place. Area residents demolished the old building with an idea that the new buildings would be regularized in the policy announced by the state government.

The people carrying out illegal constructions in the heritage zone are alleging that the legislation of protecting the heritage zone of McLeodganj was impractical. They alleged that already about 98 per cent heritage had been lost. There are just one or two buildings in heritage zone of McLeodganj that can be classified as heritage buildings. The rest of the heritage buildings in McLeodganj have either been modified or reconstructed. So there was no point in keeping the legislation of banning construction in heritage zone of McLeodganj, they argue.

Violations galore  

• 128 hotels have already lost power and water connections on High Court orders
• Hotels with completion certificates have raised illegal stories later
• As Dharamsala is a quake-prone area, maximum of four storey buildings and a basement was allowed. However, several seven-storey hotels have come up in the areas
• The worst casualty in McLeodganj is the heritage zone that is famous as the Dalai Lama abode and the Tibetan government-in-exile.