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| Tara Chand orders crackdown on Kralsangri constructions | | LAWDA chief had issued permission to 28 huts on the eve of his retirement | | AHMED ALI FAYYAZ
SRINAGAR, Sep 2: Deputy Chief Minister and Minister incharge Housing & Urban Development, Tara Chand, has got raising of a tourist village at Kralsangri, in Nishat area, stopped today after it was brought to his notice by certain complainants that former Chief Town Planner and incharge Vice Chairman of Lakes & Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA), Mir Naseem, had facilitated permission for construction of 28 huts in close vicinity of Dal Lake and Tulip Garden just a day before his retirement from service on April 30th, 2008. On the Dy CM’s instructions, newly appointed Commissioner-Secretary Housing & Urban Development, Abdul Hamid, has directed LAWDA authorities to initiate proceedings for cancellation of all building permissions in the area.
Authoritative sources revealed to EARLY TIMES that residents of Kralsangri area had complained to Deputy Chief Minister, Tara Chand, that a group of businessmen had managed to obtain permission for raising a Tourist Village last year but they had begun not only vandalisation of the forest area but also sale of plots to private parties for residential and commercial purposes. It had been pointed out in the complaints that the area being developed was at a stone’s throw from the world-famous Dal Lake as also from the prestigious Indira Gandhi Tulip Garden laid by former Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad in 2006-08.
Some of the complainants, according to sources, had alleged that LAWDA had issued permission for construction of 28 huts in the proposed tourist village on the site that allegedly included forest area encroached upon by some residents. More seriously, it had been pointed out that former Chief Town Planner, Mir Naseem, then holding additional charge of VC LAWDA, had issued No Objection Certificate for raising of the Tourist Village just a day before his reaching superannuation on Aprl 30th, 2008. LAWDA’s building permission issuing authority, BOCA, had later cleared the project and issued permission on the basis of CTP’s NOC.
Interestingly, all other agencies, including Forest and Revenue Departments, are said to have issued their NOCs that facilitated issuance of permission from the competent authority, LAWDA.
Sources said that immediately he assumed charge of Commissioner-Secretary Housing & Urban Development the other day, Mr Hamid was summoned by Tara Chand and directed to conduct inspection of the site alongwith senior officials of all the departments concerned. Consequently, Mr Hamid today visited the spot alongwith incharge CTP, Iftikhar Ahmed Hakeem, VC of Srinagar Development Authority, Syed Kifayat Hussain Rizvi, Director Local Bodies Kashmir, Mohammad Abbas Dar, newly appointed Commissioner Srinagar Munipality, Tufail Matoo and other officials.
An official press release said that during its surprise visit, the high level team detected “largescale vandalization of precious Kralsangri heights just adjacent to internationally reputed Tulip Garden”. Commissioner Housing, according to the press release, found that construction activities of making roads and private colony were in full swing without knowledge of concerned authorities and the government. “He immediately gave directions on the spot to stop all the activities on the Kralsangri heights as it is direct danger to Dal Lake. He found that some private agency has got blank permission 28 huts in the area which he will be personally investigating and would submit the report to Deputy Chief Minister”, said the official release.
Commissioner/Secretary expressed concern on the ongoing earth cutting in the Karalsangari hill top for construction of road link and wanton cutting of trees which has converted the area, ones known as best hiking location, into a desert.
“Asserting that government would not allow vandalization of the heritage in any case, the Commissioner/Secretary directed the concerned to initiate proceedings for cancellation of all building permissions in the area. Mr Hamid asked the officers to work with social obligation to preserve the Dal Lake and warned that any officer or agency found indulging in facilitating violation of land use would not be spared. He said conservation of Dal is every body’s and there can not be compromise in this regard”, the press release added.
Later, in a conversation with Early Times, Mr Hamid said that he did not found the permission as issued lawfully. He confirmed that all constructions in the area had been got stopped. He added that a detailed report of all violations was expected to be ready within a day or so and that would be immediately submitted to Dy CM.
Sources said that Hamid’s team observed that construction of a 15 ft wide and nearly one KM long road was underway with engagement of JCB earth excavators and a large number of green trees had been felled to clear the way. Besides, one hut was found to have been constructed. Some local residents said that the group of businessmen had applied for permission to raise a Tourist Village as provided in the Master Plan of Srinagar city but they had later begun preparations for raising a huge hotel and sale of plots to private parties for residential and commercial purposes.
Officials in Town Planning Organisation of Jammu & Kashmir Government said that the permission issued was in violation of Detailed Project Report of Dal Lake which had been prepared Alternate Hydro Energy Center of Indian Institute of Technology, Roorki. Government of India has approved and released funds worth more than Rs 200 cr over this consultancy report.
VC of LAWDA, Irfan Yasin, said that the permission had been issued after seeking NOC from all the concerned agencies. He said that entire records were being re-examined in view of fresh complaints and a detailed report would be submitted to the Government in a couple of days.
Even as Kransangri heights, in foothills of Zabarvan hill, fall outside the area notified as ‘Green Belt’ in close vicinity of Dal Lake, a spacious hotel is nearing completion near the site after 20 years of construction. Some of the prominent politicians, including former Dy Chief Minister, Muuzaffar Hussain Baig, have raised their residential houses in the same area.
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