MC drive against illegal construction a sham

Tribune News Service

Jammu, December 2

The campaign launched by the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) against illegal construction and commercialisation of residential areas in the city has turned out to be a sham as a “go slow” policy has been adopted by the corporation.

Sources said due to the pressure from people having close political connections the illegal transformation is going on with impunity while the enforcement agencies are turning a blind eye towards the unlawful activities.

Despite law passed against such violations, civic bodies in Jammu as well as in Srinagar have failed to stop conversion of residential colonies into commercial spaces, which has led to chaos in many areas in the urban centres.

As per the survey conducted within the municipal limits of the city, there are more than 2,000 residential buildings illegally converted into commercial centres in violation of the master plan and Jammu and Kashmir Control of Building Operation Act-1988.

“Law says that for converting any category of land and building into a commercial one, proper permission has to be taken from the competent authority as defined in revenue laws, but in the city most of the people are violating the set rules,” said a senior municipal official.

The Gandhi Nagar, Trikuta Nagar, old city and Shastri Nagar areas are on the top of the list where more than 700 violations of conversion of residential houses into commercial buildings have been detected. Similar cases could be found in other colonies.

The Commissioner, JMC, Kiran Wattal, could not be contacted for comment.