Illegal structures built after June ’16 may face axe

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, April 22

Those who have raised illegal structures after June 2016 will not get relaxation under the retention policy of the state government under which it has proposed to regularise 100 per cent deviation from the approved maps.

The fact has come to the fore during notice issued by the Dharamsala Municipal Corporation to 15 hotel and commercial building owners.

The defaulters have been warned that their structures cannot be regularised as they were constructed after June 2016.

Highly placed sources told The Tribune that the previous Municipal Commissioner had got a survey regarding illegal constructions conducted in Dharamsala in February. A list of the defaulters was prepared. It was on the basis of the list that notices have been issued.

Interestingly, when the state government announced the retention policy last year, a large number of people, especially from Dharamsala, had raised illegal structures with a hope that they would be regularised.

Though the maximum height of buildings allowed in the earthquake prone Dharamsala zone was just about 4 storeys, seven-storey buildings have come up in McLeodganj. These were built with an idea that the government would regularise these.

Geological experts have warned against high-rise buildings in McLeodganj. They have alleged that if earthquake strikes the region, disaster management might be difficult due to high-rise buildings.

Illegal constructions have become so blatant that complaints from the Union Ministry for External Affairs that has a liaison office for the Dalai Lama had fallen on deaf ears of officials.

The liaison officer, in a letter, said an illegal building had come around the office which had blocked even the sunlight to their building. However, no action was taken against the accused and illegal construction continued.

Commissioner of the Dharamsala MC Lalit Jain said it was a routine exercise. He, however, admitted that constructions raised after 2016 would not be regularised

Former minister and senior BJP leader Kishan Kapoor alleged that the people had been fooled by the state government into raising illegal constructions on the plea that they would be regularised.

Violation

• When the state government announced the retention policy last year, a large number of people raised illegal structures
• Though the maximum height of buildings in the earthquake-prone zone is 4 storeys, seven-storey buildings have come up in McLeodganj
• These were built with an idea that the govt would regularise these