Mushrooming hotels, illegal structures blot on Bir-Billing

Ravinder Sood

Palampur, May 25

In the absence of any check by the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Department, illegal and unplanned constructions have marred the beauty of one of the top 10 paragliding sites of the world, Bir-Billing.

Though the state government has constituted the Special Area Development Authority (SADA) to regulate the construction activities in Bir-Billing, it has failed to curb rampant constructions in the area during the last five years.

Unplanned constructions have reduced open areas in this hill resort, posing a threat to the security of the paragliders. In the past few years, a sudden increase in the number of tourists has led to the mushrooming of hotels, shops and restaurants in the area. Therefore, hardly any open area is left for paragliders to land safely. Haphazard construction near landing sites has become a cause for concern. Besides, wrong parking has made things worse in the area.

Many tourists and locals say if immediate action is not taken, no place will be left for landing and it will be a major setback to the hill resort. The SADA has imposed various taxes like the green tax and fee for pilots, but no facilities are available for the tourists.

In Billing, the absence of public toilets inconveniences the tourists. Similarly, Bir, Chogan and the Tibetan Colony are deprived of basic sanitation facilities.

Recently, The Tribune had highlighted the issue related to a multi-storey parking being constructed by the state Tourism Department, which was a hazard for the paragliders. The Himachal Pradesh High Court took a cognisance of the news appearing in these columns and directed the Tourism Department to dismantle one storey of the building, which was later razed to ground.

Residents alleged that stringent TCP laws for the approval of site plans of buildings and the lack of timely approval from the TCP authorities has made the situation worse.

A number of approvals for the site plans of buildings have been kept on hold because of red tape and official bottlenecks. The Tribune team today visited Bir, Chogan and adjoining areas and a number of local residents complained that a long wait for approvals from the TCP Department has given rise to illegal constructions in the area.

Baijnath SDM DC Thakur said the SADA had already identified illegal buildings in Bir-Billing and issued notices to the owners. Besides, the state government had also called for details as the High Court has considered a news item appearing in The Tribune as a public interest litigation. He said necessary action would be taken and if needed and the illegal buildings would be demolished as per the TCP rules.

Official bottlenecks make things worse

• The state government has constituted the SADA to regulate construction activities in Bir-Billing, but it has failed to curb rampant constructions in the area
• The High Court took cognisance of a news item appearing in these columns and directed the Tourism Department to dismantle one storey of the building
• Residents alleged that stringent TCP laws for the approval of site plans of buildings and the lack of timely approval have made the situation worse
• Baijnath SDM DC Thakur said the SADA had already identified illegal buildings in Bir-Billing and also issued notices to the owners