Two hotels among 5 buildings in D’sala lose power connection

Lalit Mohan

Dharamsala, February 23

The Dharamsala Municipal Corporation (MC) has cut the power connections of five buildings, including two hotels and a mart, in the city for carrying out unauthorised constructions and encroaching upon government land.

According to Municipal Commissioner Anurag Chander Sharma, the power connections of the buildings of Bipin Katoch, Tibetan United Society and Black Magic Hotel located on the Jogibara road in McLeodganj have been cut for encroaching upon a drain and government land.

Punished for illegal constructions

• Power connections of the buildings of Bipin Katoch, Tibetan United Society and Black Magic Hotel in McLeodganj have been cut for encroaching upon a drain and government land
• Hotel Centre Point and Maha Mai Mart have also lost power connections over illegal constructions and for using parking space for commercial activities without approval

Two other buildings, including Hotel Centre Point, have also lost power connections for undertaking constructions outside the approved map. In the hotel building, the parking floor was being used for commercial activity and the sixth floor was constructed without approval. Besides, tin CGI sheet was being used without permission.

Sharma said that the power connection of Maha Mai Mart in Dharamsala was cut as its parking was being used for commercial purpose and unauthorised constructions had been carried out on the front and rear of its building.

It is not for the first time that illegal buildings have lost their power connections in the city. In 2017, the power and water connections of 145 hotels and commercial buildings in Dharamsala were cut on the orders of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh. The court had taken a serious view of illegal constructions carried out in McLeodganj and ordered the authorities concerned to cut water and power connections of the buildings.

As per the MC building bylaws, hotels or commercial buildings in the city should have adequate vehicle parking spaces. Besides, nobody is allowed to violate the floor area ratio (FAR) of 1.75 fixed by the Town and Country Planning Department. The hotels and commercial buildings are also supposed to leave setbacks on front and rear.

However, many commercial buildings and hotels in Dharamsala have no parking spaces. Several hotel owners are using parking spaces shown in approved maps for commercial purposes by building shops there. Many hotels and commercial buildings have also violated the FAR condition.

Asked how many buildings in Dharamsala had been constructed in violation of norms, the Municipal Commissioner said that the data was being collected and action would be taken against those who had built buildings illegally and encroached upon government land.