Early Times Report
Srinagar, July 17: A Division Bench of Jammu and Kashmir High Court has directed State Pollution Control Board to file a status report within two weeks about the sealing of hotels who continue to violate pollution control and other laws in the state.
Hearing a Public Interest Litigation, the division comprising Chief Justice M M Kumar and Justice Hasnain Masoodi also clarified that its order allowing hotels without STPs to operate 19 rooms will not last for all times to come.
As the hearing in the PIL, Rafiq Zargar and others Vs state, started before the bench, Secretary, State Pollution Control Board filed status report, providing details of STP in various hotels at Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Srinagar, Sonamarg, Patnitop, Jammu, Katra, Rajouri, Poonch, Doda and Kishtwar.
"There are hotels which are multi-storeyed that have been permitted to operate only in respect of 19 rooms in pursuance of concession given by this Court vide order dated 24.12.2012. The order apparently was passed to surmount the situation of tourist rush and heavy booking of hotels. It did not, however, mean that these hotels are not required to install STPs," the bench said, clarifying that the order was passed to give respite to such hotels and "it may not last for all times to come. In other words, such an order may have to be withdrawn."
The bench also directed Advocate General M I Qadri to submit status report within two weeks about the sealing of the hotels operating without having obtained consent or STP.
Amicus Curie, Ajaz Chesti, raised another issue by referring to the order dated 20 March 2014 regarding demarcation of land at Gulmarg. Subsequently, counsel for GDA referred to a status report filed in pursuance to the directions.
"A perusal of various other paras of the report show that there are persons who have no allotment in their favour and they are in possession of hundreds of kanals of land without any authority of law. The other category of persons are those who were allotted a small portion of land but they have encroached upon hundreds of kanals of land," the bench observed.
"Few examples from the status report filed would be sufficient to disclose the blatant disregard for the law of the land. Notices have been issued to 31 such persons who are occupying land in excess of the leased area, e.g., one Umer Khaled C/o Hotel Nedous, Gulmarg was initially allotted land measuring 2 kanals 13 Marias but he has encroached upon land to the extent of 98 kanals 11 Marias."
This example, court said, can be multiplied by referring to each one of notices issued under Section (1) of Section 4 of the Jammu and Kashmir Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act, 1988.
"We have also been apprised that after issuing notices under Section 4(1) of the Act, 20 of them have replied and eviction notices to rest of the 11 have been issued under Section 5 of the Act which have been attached with the status report . Then there is another category, namely, those who were given the land on lease but their lease period has expired. The information provided to the Court is not in tabulated form but all the copies of notices issued under Section 4 of the Act have been attached."
The court directed the counsel to furnish the details in a tabulated form by preparing the list separately for each category. "That should provide bird's eye view to the Court with regard to violators and violations."
The court also directed the Registrar Judicial (Jammu) to photocopy the whole paper book and the orders passed in the titled S. K. Bala v. State of J&K and others for details of land grabbers in other parts of the state. |
